Gifts to God
An EasyEnglish Bible Version with Notes (1200 word vocabulary) on the Book of Leviticus
Words in boxes are comments on the text.
The translated Bible text has been through Advanced Checking.
A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.
The *Lord is showing Israel’s people that he is *holy. He is showing them how they must live to stay near to him.
The *Lord chose Moses to guide Israel’s people out of Egypt. Israel’s people were slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Aaron was the brother of Moses. He was the first *priest that God gave to Israel’s people.
v1 The *Lord spoke to Moses from the *Tent of Meeting. He told him the rules that Israel’s people must obey. v2 The *Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel’s people. Tell them this. When a person gives an animal to the *Lord, it must be a cow or a sheep or a goat. v3 A person may want to give a gift to the *Lord. That gift must be a male animal from his group of animals. It must be *perfect. He must burn the whole animal as a gift to the *Lord. The person must bring it to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. If he does, the *Lord will accept his gift. v4 The person must put his hand on the animal’s head. Then he must kill it. The animal’s death will pay for the person’s *sins. v5 The person must kill the young male cow in front of the *Lord. The *priests who are the sons of Aaron will take the blood. They will throw it on to the sides of the *altar. That is the *altar near to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. v6 The person must take the skin from the dead animal and then he must cut up the meat. v7 The sons of Aaron the *priest will light a fire on the *altar. Then they will put wood on it. v8 The *priests will put the pieces of meat on the fire. They will put the head and the fat on the fire with the meat. v9 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. Then the *priest will burn the whole animal on the *altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure.
v10 A person may want to give a sheep or a goat to the *Lord. It must be a male animal. It must be *perfect. v11 The person must kill it at the north side of the *altar. The *priests will throw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v12 The person must cut the animal up. The *priests will take the pieces of meat, the head and the fat. They will put them on the fire that is burning on the *altar. v13 The person must wash the legs and the inside parts with water. The *priest will burn the whole animal on the *altar. It is a burnt *offering to the *Lord. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure.
v14 If a person wants to give a bird to the *Lord, it must be a *dove or a *pigeon. v15 The *priest will bring the bird to the *altar. He will tear off the head and he will burn it on the *altar. The *priest will pour the blood on to the side of the *altar. v16 Then the *priest will remove the part of the bird where the food is stored. He will throw it on the east side of the *altar, with the ashes. v17 He will hold the parts that the bird uses to fly. And then he will tear open the body. But he must not tear it completely. He will burn all of it on the fire that is on the *altar. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure.
v1 A person may want to give *grain as a gift to the *Lord. He must make it into flour. He must put oil and *incense on the flour. v2 He must take it to Aaron’s sons, the *priests. The *priest will take some of the flour and oil and all the *incense in his hand. He will burn them on the *altar as a gift to the *Lord. The smell of them while they are burning will give the *Lord pleasure. v3 The flour that he did not burn is for the *priests. It is very *holy. That is because it is part of an *offering to the *Lord.
v4 A person must not use *yeast if he bakes his gift of *grain. He must make cakes or biscuits with flour and oil. v5 He must not use *yeast if he cooks his cake on a flat plate. He must make it with flour and oil. v6 He must break the cake into pieces. He must pour oil on it. It is a gift to the *Lord. v7 A person must use flour and oil to cook the cake in a pot. v8 He must give the cake to the *priest. The *priest will take it to the *altar. v9 He will take a piece of it and he will burn it in the fire. It is a gift to the *Lord. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure. v10 The part of the cake that he did not burn is for the *priests. That is because it is most *holy, part of a burnt *offering to the *Lord.
v11 A person must not use *yeast when he gives a gift of *grain to the *Lord. He must not give *yeast or *honey for the *priests to burn as gifts to the Lord. v12 He can give them as the first part of his *harvest. He must not burn them on the fire. He cannot use them to give the *Lord pleasure. v13 A person must put salt in all his gifts of *grain. Salt is a mark of the *Lord’s promise to Israel’s people.
v14 A person may want to give the first part of his *harvest to the *Lord. He must break the *grains into pieces and he must cook them in a fire. v15 They are a gift to the *Lord, so he must put oil and *incense on them. v16 The *priest will burn a part of the *grain with all the *incense. It is a burnt *offering to the *Lord.
v1 A person might want to give a *fellowship gift to the *Lord. He must take a *perfect animal from his group of animals. The animal can be male or female. v2 The person must put his hand on the animal’s head. Then he must kill it at the door of the *Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons the *priests will throw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v3 The person must burn some pieces of the animal as a gift to the *Lord. It is a *fellowship *offering. v4 He must bring all the fat from inside the animal. And he must bring the *kidneys with their fat and the best piece of the *liver. v5 The *priests, Aaron’s sons, will take the pieces. They must put them on top of the gift on the *altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the *Lord pleasure.
v6 If a person wants to give a sheep to the *Lord as a *fellowship gift, it must be *perfect. The person can give a male animal or a female animal to the *Lord. v7 If it is a young sheep he must offer it to the *Lord. v8 He must put his hand on its head. Then he must kill it at the front of the *Tent of Meeting. Aaron’s sons will throw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v9 The person must cut the tail off the animal. He must give the tail and all the fat from inside the body to the *Lord. v10 He must also give the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver. v11 The *priest will burn them as food on the *altar. They are a burnt *offering to the *Lord.
v12 A person may offer a goat to the *Lord. v13 The person must put his hand on the goat’s head. Then he must kill it at the front of the *Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons will throw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v14 The person must take all of the fat round the inside parts. He must give it to the *Lord for a burnt *offering. v15 He must also give the *kidneys with the fat on them and the best piece of the *liver. v16 The *priest will burn them as food on the *altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the *Lord pleasure.
v17 Israel’s people must not eat any fat or drink any blood. This rule is for them and for their children everywhere. They must obey this rule always.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Say to Israel’s people, “A man may *sin, when he did not really want to sin. This is what that person must do.
v3 If the man is a *priest, his *sins will cause the people to *sin. He must bring a young bull (male cow) as a gift to the *Lord. v4 The *priest must bring the young *bull to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. He must put his hand on the animal’s head and then he must kill it. v5 The *priest must carry some of the blood into the *Tent of Meeting. v6 He must put his finger in the blood. He must *shake it in front of the *holy curtain seven times in front of the *Lord. v7 He must put some of the blood on the corners of the *incense *altar. The *priest must pour the blood that he did not use on to the floor in front of the *altar. That *altar is near the door inside the *Tent of Meeting. v8 He must cut all the fat from inside the dead animal. v9 He must also cut out the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver. He must take them from inside the animal. v10 He must burn the fat on the *altar. The *priest does this when the people give a *fellowship *offering to the *Lord. v11 He must take up the skin and all the meat. He must take the head, the legs and all the inside pieces. He must include the stomach. v12 The *priest must take all the pieces to a clean place outside the *camp. He must put them on the ashes and he must burn them on a wood fire.
v13 All of the people might do bad things when they did not really want to do them. They might not obey some of the *Lord’s rules. They will have *sinned, even if they did not know this. v14 When they do know about it they must bring a young bull (male cow) to the *Tent of Meeting. The animal is a *sin *offering to the *Lord. v15 The leaders of the people must put their hands on the young *bull’s head and then they must kill it. v16 The *priest will take some of the blood into the *Tent of Meeting. v17 He will put his finger in the blood. He must *shake it in front of the *holy curtain seven times. v18 He will take some of the blood. Then he will put it on the corners of the *altar that is in front of the *Lord. He will pour the blood that he did not use on to the floor. He must pour it in front of the burnt *offering altar. This altar is in front of the *Tent of Meeting. v19 The *priest will cut all of the fat from the dead animal. And he will burn all the fat on the *altar of burnt *offering. v20 He will do with this *bull what he did with the *bull for the *sin *offering. This is how the *priest will *atone (pay) for the *sins of the people. The *Lord will *forgive them when the *priest does this. v21 The *priest will take the dead animal outside the *camp. He will put it on the ashes from the *altar fire. He will burn the animal as he did the first *bull. This is the *sin *offering for all the people.
v22 A leader might do bad things when he did not really want to do them. He has *sinned if he does not obey one of the *Lord’s rules. v23 People will tell him that he has done wrong things. So then he must give a male goat to the *Lord. The animal must be *perfect. v24 He must put his hand on the goat’s head and then he must kill it. He must do this where they kill animals for the burnt *offering. It is an *offering for *sin. v25 The *priest will put his finger in the blood of the dead animal. He will put some of it on the *altar’s corners. He will pour the blood that he did not use on to the ground. He will pour it in front of the *altar. v26 Then the *priest will cut all of the fat from the goat. And he will burn it on the *altar. He will do this as he did for the *fellowship *offering. This is how the *priest will make *atonement for the leader’s *sin. Then the *Lord will *forgive the leader.
v27 One of the people might do bad things when he did not really want to do them. He did not obey one of the *Lord’s rules. That person has *sinned. v28 They will tell him that he has done bad things. Then he must give a female goat to the *Lord. The animal must be *perfect. v29 He must put his hand on the goat’s head. Then he must kill it by the *altar of burnt *offering. v30 The *priest will put his finger in the blood of the goat. He will put some of it on the *altar’s corners. He will pour out the blood that he did not use. He will pour it on to the ground in front of the *altar. v31 The *priest will cut all of the fat from the goat as he did with the *fellowship *offering. And he will burn it on the *altar. This will make *atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure. Then the *Lord will *forgive the person.
v32 If a person wants to give a young sheep to the *Lord, it must be a female. It must be *perfect. v33 He must put his hand on the animal’s head. He will kill it at the *altar of burnt *offering. v34 The *priest will put his finger in the blood of the sheep. He will take some of it. And he will put it on the corners of the *altar. He will pour the blood that he did not use on the ground in front of the *altar. v35 The *priest will cut all the fat from the sheep as he did with the *fellowship *offering. He will burn it on the *altar. He must burn it on top of the burnt *offerings. This is how the *priest will make *atonement for the person’s *sin. Then the *Lord will *forgive the person.
v1 A person may know about something that is wrong. He may not speak about it at a public meeting. That person is *sinning.
v2 The *Lord has said that some animals and insects are not clean. A person may touch a dead animal or an insect like that. If he does, he is doing something wrong. It is a *sin even if he did not really want to touch it.
v3 A person may touch something that another person has made bad. If he does, he is doing something wrong. He might not know that it is bad. But he is still doing a wrong thing.
v4 A person is doing a wrong thing if he says any careless promise. The promise might be good or bad. People will tell him that he has not obeyed God’s rules. Then he will know that he has *sinned.
v5 A person must tell the *priest if he has done any of these things. v6 He must give a sheep or a goat for a *sin *offering. Then the *Lord will not be angry with him. The *priest will kill the animal as a *sacrifice to *atone for that *sin.
v7 A person may not have money to buy a sheep or a goat. If he does not, he must buy two *doves or two *pigeons. He must give them to the *Lord. One bird will be an *offering for wrong things that he has done. The second bird will be for a burnt *offering.
Doves and pigeons are birds that God let people eat.
v8 The *priest will bring one of the birds to the *altar. It is the *offering for *sin. He will break the neck of the bird, but he will not pull the head off. v9 He will *shake some of the blood on to the side of the *altar. He will pour the blood that he did not *shake on to the floor. He must pour it in front of the *altar. v10 The *priest will burn the other bird. The *Lord will not be angry with the man when the *priest does this.
v11 A person may not have money to buy two *doves or two *pigeons. If he does not, he must give a tenth (1/10th) of an *ephah (about two litres or 4 pints) of flour to the *Lord. He must not put oil or *incense on the flour because it is a *sin *offering. v12 He must take it to the *priest. The *priest will burn some of the flour on the *altar as a special part of the flour. It is a *sin *offering. v13 The *Lord will *forgive the person when the *priest does this. The flour that he did not burn is like the *grain *offering. It belongs to the *priests.” ’
v14 The *Lord said to Moses, v15 ‘If a person does not obey the *Lord’s *holy rules he is *sinning. He must give a male sheep to the *Lord. He must do this even if he did not know that he had *sinned. It is a gift to the *Lord to pay for his *sins. It must be a *perfect male animal. It must be worth the correct amount of money. v16 He must also give money worth one fifth (1/5th) more. The person must give the sheep and the money to the *priest. The *priest will *sacrifice the sheep to the *Lord. It is an *atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. The *Lord will *forgive the person.
v17 A person might do wrong things. But he might not know that they were wrong. He is *sinning. v18 When he knows about it, he must bring a sheep to the *priest. The animal must be a *perfect male. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. The *priest will give the sheep to the *Lord. It will be an *atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the *Lord will *forgive the person. v19 The sheep is an *offering because the person did not obey the *Lord.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘A person may take something that is not his. Or he may find it and keep it. He may tell his friend that he has not taken it. He might not give him the correct price for something. But then he is not obeying God. v3 A person may speak words that are not true. That is a *sin. A person may keep something that belongs to another person. He does not give it back. That is a wrong thing to do. He might find something. And then he might say that it is his. If it is not his, he is not obeying God. v4 He has done something that is wrong. So, he must show that he is sorry. He must give back anything that is not his. He must give back anything that he has found. He must give back anything that he has kept. He must give it to the person to whom it belongs. v5 He must give back everything and one fifth (1/5th) more. He must also, on the same day, give a gift to the *Lord. v6 He must bring a sheep to the *priest. The sheep must be a *perfect male animal. The sheep must be worth the right amount of money. v7 The *priest will give the sheep to the *Lord. It is an *atonement for the wrong things that the person has done. Then the *Lord will *forgive the person.’
v8 The *Lord said to Moses, v9 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons my rules. They must burn these gifts for the *Lord on the *altar. The fire must burn all night. v10 When the morning comes, the *priest must dress himself in his *linen clothes. The *linen must be next to his skin. He must take the ashes from the fire and he must put them at the side of the *altar. v11 Then he must dress himself in other clothes. He must carry the ashes outside the *camp and he must put them in a special place. v12 The fire that is on the *altar must never stop burning. Every morning the *priest must put wood on it. He must also put on it the gifts and the fat of the *fellowship *offerings. v13 The fire must always burn. It must not go out.
v14 These are the rules for the gift of *grain. Aaron’s sons must bring it in front of the *altar to give to the *Lord. v15 A *priest must take some of the flour and oil. He must mix this special part with *incense and he must burn all of it on the *altar. The smell of them while they are burning will give the *Lord pleasure. v16 The *priests will make into bread the flour that he did not burn. They must not use *yeast to make the bread. They must eat the bread in the *holy place, in the yard outside the *Tent of Meeting. v17 The bread is for the *priests because it is a *holy part of a gift for the *Lord. It is *holy, like the *offerings for *sin. And it is like the gifts when somebody does anything wrong. v18 Any son, grandson or male of Aaron’s family can eat the bread. It is his usual part of the burnt *offerings to the *Lord. A person who touches the bread will become *holy.’
v19 The *Lord said to Moses, v20 ‘When Aaron is *anointed, Aaron and his sons must give an *offering to the *Lord. It must be a 10th of an *ephah (about two litres or 4 pints) of best flour. They must bring half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. v21 They must mix it with oil and they must cook it on a flat plate. Then they must break it into pieces and they must *offer it to the *Lord. The smell of it will give the *Lord pleasure. v22 The son whom they will *anoint to take Aaron’s place must prepare the *offering. v23 All of the gifts that the *priests give to the *Lord must be burnt completely. Nobody should eat them.’
v24 The *Lord said to Moses, v25 ‘Tell Aaron and his sons this rule. When a person does wrong things he must give an animal to the *Lord. The animal will be *holy. The person must kill the animal at the north side of the *altar. That is where they kill the *offerings for *sin. v26 The *priest who *offered it will eat his part of the gift in a *holy place. That is the yard outside the *Tent of Meeting. v27 If anyone or anything touches the meat they will become *holy. If the blood touches the clothes of a person, he must wash them in a *holy place. v28 If a person cooks the meat in a *clay pot, he must break the pot. He must break it when he has cooked the meat. If a person cooks the meat in a metal pot, he must wash the pot. He must wash it well when he has cooked the meat. And he must wash it again with clean water. v29 The meat is *holy. Only the *priests’ sons can eat it. v30 They must take the blood of a *sin *offering into the *Tent of Meeting. It is a *sacrifice to *atone for *sin. Nobody should eat any of that *offering. The *priest must burn it.
v1 These are the rules for a most *holy *offering. A person may be sorry for the wrong things that he has done. That person must obey these rules. v2 The *priest must kill an animal at the north side of the *altar. He must throw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v3 The *priest will bring all of the fat from the tail and the inside parts to the *altar. v4 He will bring the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver. v5 Then he will burn the pieces on the *altar. They are a gift to the *Lord to make a person clean from *sin. v6 Aaron’s sons can eat the meat that is not burnt. They must eat it in a *holy place because it is most *holy.
v7 The rules are the same for *sacrifices for *sin and for a person who is sorry for his *sins. The gifts of meat are for the *priest who brings them to the *altar. v8 The skin of the animal is for the *priest. v9 People may give gifts of *grain that they cooked over a fire or in a closed flat plate. They should give them all to the *priest. v10 *Grain that is dry is also a gift. And *grain that a man mixes with oil is also a gift. They should give them to Aaron’s sons.
v11 These rules are for special gifts (*fellowship *offerings) to the *Lord. v12 If a man wants to thank the *Lord, he must give an animal and flat loaves of bread. He must mix the flour for the bread with oil. He must not mix the flour with *yeast. v13 He must also give other loaves of bread to the *Lord. He must make these with flour, oil and *yeast. v14 A man must *offer one of each kind of loaf to the *Lord. These belong to the *priest who throws the blood on the *altar. v15 The person must not keep the meat from the animal until the next day. He must eat it on the day that he offers it.
v16 The gift to the *Lord may be for a promise. The gift may be because the person loves the *Lord. That person will not have to eat it all on the same day. He can eat some of it on the next day. v17 On the third day, there may still be some meat that he has not eaten. If there is, he must burn it. v18 If the person eats the meat on the third day, the *Lord will not accept the gift. The meat is not good. The person who eats it will not give the *Lord pleasure.
v19 Some meat may touch something that is not *clean. Nobody should eat that meat. People must burn it. Only a *clean person can eat the meat that is a gift to the *Lord. v20 A person who is not *clean might eat the *fellowship *offering. If he does, they must send him away from Israel’s people. v21 A person might touch something that is not *clean. That person must not eat the meat. He must not eat it if he has touched an *unclean animal or an *unclean person. If he does eat it, they must send him away. They must send him away from Israel’s people.’
v22 The *Lord said to Moses, v23 ‘Tell Israel’s people this. They must not eat the fat from sheep, cows or goats. v24 A person can use the fat of a dead animal that he has found. But he must not eat it. v25 They must not eat the fat of an animal that they have burnt as a gift on the *Lord’s *altar. They must send away from the *Lord’s people anyone who does eat it. v26 You must not eat the blood of an animal or of a bird even if you are living in another country. v27 You must send away from Israel’s people any person who eats blood.’
v28 The *Lord said to Moses, v29 ‘Say to Israel’s people, “When a person gives an animal as a *fellowship *offering, he must bring part of it to the*Lord. v30 He must carry the *offering in his own hands to the fire. He must bring the fat and the breast and he must lift the breast to the *Lord. v31 The *priest will burn the fat at the *altar. He will lift the meat of the breast to the *Lord. Then Aaron’s sons can eat it. v32 The top part of the back right leg of the animal is a gift. v33 It is for the *priest who *offers the blood and the fat. v34 The breast and the top part of the right leg are gifts. They are from the *fellowship *offering. The *Lord wants Aaron and his sons to have them. People must give these parts of the Lord’s gift to the *priests. v35 The *Lord gave this part of the *Israelites’ *offerings to Aaron’s sons. He gave it to them on the day when they became *priests. v36 The *Lord told the *Israelites that they must do this. He told them that on the day that Aaron’s sons became *priests. All their sons and grandsons must always give these *offerings to the *priests.” ’
v37 These are all the rules that a person must use. They are for when he gives a gift to the *Lord. They are the rules for *offerings of *grain and the *fellowship *offering. And they are rules for the *offerings that people give to take away their *sin. The rules tell them how to make Aaron’s sons *priests. And they tell people who have done bad things what to do. They must show the *Lord that they are sorry. v38 Israel’s people were in the Sinai *desert. The *Lord gave the rules to Moses on Sinai’s mountain. That was on the day that the *Lord spoke to the people. He told them that they should bring their *offerings to him there.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Fetch Aaron and his sons. Bring their special clothes. Bring the oil. Bring the basket of bread that they made without *yeast. And bring the male cow for the *offering for *sin and the two male sheep. v3 Cause all the people to come to the door of the *Tent of Meeting.’
v4 Moses and the *priests and all the people came to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. v5 Moses said to the people, ‘The *Lord said that I must do this.’ v6 Moses washed Aaron and his sons with water. v7 Moses put a shirt on Aaron and he tied a belt round Aaron. He put a *robe and an *ephod on him. He tied the *ephod with its special belt. v8 Moses put the special piece of beautiful work on Aaron’s breast. And he put the *Urim and *Thummim in its pocket. v9 Moses tied a piece of *linen as a hat round Aaron’s head. On the front of this *linen he put a plate of gold with valuable stones on it. The *Lord had said that Moses must do this.
Urim and Thummim were valuable stones. The High *Priest (Aaron) put them in the breast pocket of the beautiful work. God used the stones to guide the people. We do not know how he did this. The *ephod was a special *robe that the *High *Priest wore over his other robe.
v10 Moses put some of the special *anointing oil on the *Tent of Meeting and on everything in it. He did this to make them *holy. v11 Moses *shook oil on the *altar seven times. He put oil on the *altar table and on all the tools to use with it. He put oil on the washing dish and on the table on which it stood. v12 Moses *anointed Aaron’s head with oil to make him *holy. v13 He put a *robe and a belt and a hat of *linen on each of Aaron’s sons. The *Lord had said that Moses must do this.
v14 Moses brought the male cow as a gift to the *Lord. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the male cow’s head. v15 Moses killed the male cow. He put his finger in the blood. He put the blood on the corners of the *altar. That made it *holy. Moses poured out the blood that he had not used. He poured it on to the floor in front of the *altar. This is how he made the *altar ready to make *sacrifices to the *Lord. v16 He burnt the fat and the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver on the *altar. v17 Moses burnt the meat with the inside parts and the skin of the male cow outside the *camp. The *Lord had said that Moses must do this.
v18 Moses brought a male sheep to burn as a gift to the *Lord. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the sheep’s head. v19 Moses killed the sheep. He threw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v20 Moses cut the sheep into small pieces. He burnt the fat and the head and the pieces on the *altar. v21 He washed the legs and the inside parts. He burnt them on the *altar as an *offering to the *Lord. The smell of them while they were burning gave the *Lord pleasure. The *Lord had said that Moses must do this.
v22 Moses brought the other male sheep. It was a gift. It showed that the *Lord had chosen Aaron’s family to become his *priests. Aaron and his sons put their hands on the sheep’s head. v23 Moses killed the sheep. He put some of its blood on Aaron’s right ear. He also put blood on the *thumb of Aaron’s right hand. And he put some on the big toe of his right foot. v24 Moses did the same to Aaron’s sons. Then he threw blood on all the sides of the *altar. v25 Moses took the fat tail and the fat and the *kidneys from inside the animal. He took the best piece of the *liver from inside the animal. He took the top part of the right back leg. v26 Moses took two flat loaves of bread that they had made without *yeast and a biscuit from the basket. One of the loaves had oil in it. He put them on top of the fat and the leg. v27 Moses gave them to Aaron and to his sons. They lifted them up as a special gift to the *Lord. v28 Moses took the special gift from them and he burnt it on the *altar. The smell of it while it was burning gave the *Lord pleasure. v29 Moses took the breast, his part of the animal, and he lifted it up to the *Lord. The *Lord had said that Moses must do this.
v30 Moses took some of the oil and some of the blood from the *altar. He *shook them on Aaron and his sons. He also *shook some of the blood and some of the oil on their clothes. He did that to make them *holy.
v31 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Cook the meat at the door of the *Tent of Meeting. Eat the meat with the bread in the basket by the door of the *Tent of Meeting. v32 Burn the meat and bread that you do not eat. v33 You must stay at the door of the *Tent of Meeting for 7 (seven) days. This will make you *holy. You must stay for 7 days to become *holy. v34 The *Lord said that you must do this to *atone for your *sin. v35 Remember that you must stay at the door of the *Tent of Meeting. You must stay there for 7 (seven) days and 7 nights. The *Lord told me that you must do this. If you do not obey him, you will die.’ v36 So Aaron and his sons did everything that the *Lord had told Moses.
v1 On the 8th (eighth) day, Moses told Aaron and his sons and the leaders of Israel that they must come. v2 He said to Aaron, ‘Bring a young male cow for your *sin*offering. And bring a male sheep for your burnt *offering to the *Lord. They must be *perfect to give to the *Lord.’ v3 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Tell Israel’s people that they must bring a male goat for a *sin *offering. And they must bring a young cow and a young sheep. They are a gift to the *Lord. The young cow and the young sheep must be one year old. They must be *perfect to burn as an *offering to the *Lord. v4 Tell Israel’s people that they must bring a male cow and a male sheep. They must bring them to *sacrifice as a *fellowship *offering to the *Lord. They will*sacrifice them. They must mix *grain and oil to *offer with them. They must do that because the *Lord will appear to them today.’
v5 The people brought all the animals and the *grain to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. Moses and all the people came. And they stood at the door of the *Tent of Meeting to *worship the *Lord. v6 Moses said to the people, ‘The *Lord has told you that you must do this. Do it. And then he will show you how great he is.’
v7 Moses said to Aaron, ‘Go to the *altar. *Sacrifice your *sin *offering and your burnt offering to the *Lord. You must do this so the *Lord will *forgive your *sins and those of the people. Then *sacrifice the people’s gift to the *Lord. Their *offerings are an *atonement for the bad things that they have done. The Lord said that you should do this.’
v8 Aaron brought the young male cow to the *altar. He killed it. This was his *offering to the *Lord to *atone for his *sin. v9 His sons brought the blood to Aaron. He put his finger in the blood and he put it on the corners of the *altar. He poured the blood that he did not use on to the floor in front of the *altar. v10 Aaron burnt the fat, the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver on the *altar. This was an *offering for his *sin. He did it as the *Lord had told Moses. v11 He took the meat and the skin from the young male cow outside the *camp and he burnt it.
v12 Aaron brought the male sheep for the burnt *offering to the *altar. He killed it. His sons brought the blood to him. He threw the blood on to the sides of the *altar. v13 The *priests gave the pieces of the animal, including the head, to Aaron. Aaron burnt them on the *altar. v14 He washed the inside parts and the legs. He burnt them on the *altar on top of the burnt *offering.
v15 Aaron brought the goat. This was the people’s *sacrifice to the *Lord. Aaron killed it and he burnt it on the *altar. It was an *offering to *atone for the people’s *sin. He *offered this sacrifice in the same way as the first sacrifice for sin.
v16 Aaron brought the other young cow. He killed it and he burnt it on the *altar. He did it as Moses had told him. v17 He also brought the *grain *offering. He took some of it and he burnt it on the *altar. He burnt it with the *Lord’s morning *sacrifice.
v18 Aaron killed the male cow and the male sheep. These were *fellowship *offerings from the people. The *priests brought the blood to him. He threw it on to the sides of the *altar. v19 Aaron took the fat tail, the fat and the *kidneys and the best piece of the *liver. v20 He put them on the animal’s breasts. Then he burnt the fat on the *altar. v21 Aaron lifted up the meat as an *offering to the *Lord. Moses had told him that he must do this.
v22 When Aaron had finished burning the gifts to the *Lord, he lifted up his hands over the people. He had *sacrificed the *sin *offering, the burnt offering and the *fellowship offerings. Then he asked the *Lord to do good things for the people. And he came down from the *altar.
v23 Moses and Aaron went into the *Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they asked God to do good things for the people. The bright light from the *Lord appeared to the people to show how great he is. v24 Then the *Lord sent a fire to show that he accepted the gifts. It completely burnt all the fat and the *offerings that were on the *altar. The people were very happy when they saw this. They shouted and they fell down with their faces to the ground.
Any gift that the people gave to the *Lord must be pure (clean and whole). This was very important. The people had to see that the *Lord was *holy. Nothing that was not good or pure could come near him.
v1 Nadab and Abihu were sons of Aaron. They put hot material in the pots that they used to burn *incense. They threw *incense over the hot material. They *offered the *incense to the *Lord. This was a wrong thing to do. The *Lord had not told them that they should do it. So it was wrong. v2 The *Lord was angry and he sent fire to burn them. They died there in front of the *Lord’s *altar. v3 Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the *Lord said,
“People may come near to me. But those people must see that I am *holy.
All the people must give *honour to me.” ’
Aaron did not reply.
v4 Mishael and Elzaphan were sons of Aaron’s father’s brother, Uzziel. Moses said to them, ‘Carry Nadab and Abihu away from the *altar. Take your cousins outside the *camp.’ v5 Nadab and Abihu were still wearing their *robes. Mishael and Elzaphan carried Nadab and Abihu outside the *camp. Moses had told them that they must do that.
v6 Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, ‘Comb your hair. Do not tear your clothes. If you do that, you will die. And the *Lord will be angry with all of the people. But Israel’s people can show that they are sad. They are sad because the *Lord has killed Nadab and Abihu with fire. v7 If you go away from the door of the *Tent of Meeting you will die. You will die because the *Lord’s *holy oil is on you.’ So Aaron and his sons did as Moses had said.
v8 The *Lord then said to Aaron, v9 ‘Do not drink *wine before you go into the *Tent of Meeting. And do not drink anything that contains alcohol. If you do, you will die. This rule is for you and for all your sons and grandsons. v10 You must know what is *holy. And you must know what is not *holy. You must know what you can use. And you must know what you must not use to *worship me. v11 You must teach Israel’s people all the rules that I gave to them by Moses.’
v12 Moses said to Aaron and to his two other sons Eleazar and Ithamar, ‘The *grain *offering is most *holy. Take the part that you did not burn. And make it into bread. Do not use *yeast. Take it to the side of the *altar and eat it. v13 Eat it in a *holy place. The *Lord has said that it is your part of the *grain *offering. It is for you and for your sons. v14 You and your sons and daughters can eat the breast meat that you held up to the *Lord. And all your family can eat the top part of the leg. Eat the meat in a place that is *clean and ready for the *Lord’s use. It is your part of the people’s *fellowship gift to the *Lord. v15 Bring the top of the leg and the breast meat. Lift them up to the *Lord. The *Lord has given them to you and to your children. Lift them up with the fat parts of the burnt *offering. He told you that you should do this.’
v16 Moses looked for the goat that was to *atone for the people’s *sin. Moses was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, sons of Aaron. He was angry because they had burnt the goat. v17 Moses said to them, ‘This gift was for the *Lord. It was a very *holy gift. It was to *atone for the people’s *sins. Why did you not take it to the *holy place and eat it? v18 You did not bring the blood into the *holy place. I told you that you must eat its meat in the *Tent of Meeting.’ v19 Aaron said to Moses, ‘My sons *sacrificed their gifts to the *Lord today. But very bad things have happened to me today. I would not have given the *Lord any pleasure if I had eaten the *sin *offering today.’ v20 When Moses heard this, he was not angry any longer.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses and Aaron, v2 ‘Some animals walk on the land. Tell Israel’s people which of these animals they can eat. v3 Each foot on the animal must have two separate parts. The animal must eat its food and then it must bring the food back into its mouth. And then it must eat the food again. Some animals eat their food twice and they have feet with two parts. You can eat those animals.
v4 Some animals have feet that have two separate parts. But they do not eat their food twice. Other animals eat their food twice. But their feet do not have two separate parts. You must not eat those animals. The *camel eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. The people must not eat the *camel. v5 The hyrax eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. They must not eat the hyrax. v6 The rabbit eats its food twice. But its feet are not in two separate parts. They must not eat the rabbit. v7 The pig’s feet are in two parts. But when the pig eats its food, it does not bring the food back into its mouth. It does not eat it twice. The people must not eat the pig. v8 They must not touch the dead bodies of those animals. They must not eat their meat. They are not *clean for you to eat.
v9 They can eat some animals that live in the sea or in the river. Those animals must have *fins and *scales on their bodies. v10 They must not eat any other animals from the sea or the river. They must keep away from them. v11 They must not touch the dead bodies of the animals from the sea or the river. They must not eat the meat from those other animals. v12 Animals from the sea and the river may have *fins and *scales on their bodies. Those are the only ones that you can eat. Those without fins or scales are not *clean.
v13 They must not eat some birds because they are not *clean. They must not eat either the eagle or the vulture. v14 They must not eat the buzzard or the kite. v15 They must not eat the raven. v16 They must not eat any owl, seagull or hawk. v17 They must not eat the cormorant. v18 They must not eat the osprey. v19 They must not eat the heron, the hoopoe or the bat. The people must not eat them nor touch their dead bodies. They are not *clean.
These birds are all birds that eat meat.
v20 Some insects fly in the air and walk on the ground. The people must not eat them. v21 Some insects can fly. And they have legs that can jump. They can eat those insects. v22 They can eat any of these. They include the locust, the cricket and the grasshopper. v23 They must not eat any other flying insect that has legs.
v24 A person may touch the dead body of an animal that is not *clean. If he does, that person is not *clean either. They must keep him separate from the other people until the evening. v25 He must wash his clothes immediately.
v26 An animal might not have feet that are in two separate parts. It is wrong to touch the dead body of this animal. Some animals do not bring food back into their mouths and eat it again. It is wrong to touch the dead bodies of these animals. v27 Some animals walk on four feet. It is wrong to touch the dead body of an animal that has paws (the kind of feet that animals like cats and dogs have). v28 A person who picks up the dead body of these animals must wash his clothes immediately. They must keep him separate from the people until the evening.
v29 Some animals that walk on the ground are not *clean. You must not touch a weasel, a rat or a mouse. v30 You must not touch any kind of lizard. v31 A person might touch the dead body of one of those animals. If he does, he will not be *clean. So they must keep him separate from the people until evening. v32 A dead animal may fall on to something that someone made from wood, cloth or skin. That thing becomes *unclean. A person must put it into water until the evening. Then it will be *clean. v33 A dead animal might fall into a pot. Then the pot and the things in it are not *clean. The person must break the pot. v34 The food or water from the pot is not *clean. A person must not drink it or eat any of that food. Water from the pot may have touched some food. If it did, that food is not *clean. You must not eat it. v35 If a dead animal falls on to a cooking pot, then the pot is not *clean. You must break the pot. v36 If a dead animal falls into a fresh water stream, the stream stays *clean. The pot that a person uses to get fresh water from the stream is clean. v37 If a dead animal falls on to some seeds, they stay *clean. v38 A person might pour water on the seeds. A dead animal might fall on the wet seeds. Then those seeds are not clean.
v39 An animal that is good for food might die. A man might touch its dead body. If he does, they must keep him separate from the people until the evening. v40 If a person eats meat from the body of the dead animal, he must wash his clothes. He will not be *clean until the evening. If a person picks up the body of the dead animal, he must wash his clothes. He will not be *clean until the evening.
v41 The people must not eat small animals that move across the ground. v42 This means animals that pass across the ground on their stomachs. It also means animals that walk on 4 (four) legs or many legs. v43 The people must not touch them or eat them. v44 The *Lord says, “I am the *Lord your God. I am *holy. Make yourselves *holy. Do not touch any small animal that moves across the ground. If you do, you will not be *clean or *holy. v45 I am the *Lord who brought you away from Egypt. I became your God. So be *holy because I am *holy.” ’
v46 These rules are about animals, birds and all animals that move in water or on the ground. v47 The people must learn to know which animals are *clean. They must recognise which animals they can eat. And they must recognise which animals they must not eat.
The *Lord gave clear rules about *clean and *unclean foods. Not to obey these rules made a person *unclean. This meant that the person was not able to get near to God. His *sin kept him away from the *Lord.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Say this to Israel’s people. When a boy is born, his mother is not *clean for 7 (seven) days. When she is bleeding each month, the rule is the same. She is not *clean. v3 Eight (8) days after he is born, they must *circumcise the boy. v4 The woman must wait for 35 (thirty-five) days after the boy is born. All this time she must not touch anything that is *holy. She must not go into the *Tent of Meeting. After this time, she will become *clean.
v5 After a girl is born, her mother will not be *clean for two weeks. The rule is the same as for each month, when she is bleeding. She will not be *clean then. She must wait 66 (sixty-six) days after a girl is born. Then she will become *clean.
v6 When the days to wait are finished, the woman must come to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. She must bring to the *priest a sheep that is one year old for a burnt *offering. And she must bring a bird for a *sin *offering. The bird must be a *pigeon or a *dove. These are gifts to the *Lord. v7 The *priest will *offer the gifts to the *Lord. Then the woman will become *clean. These are the rules at the birth of a boy or of a girl.
v8 If the woman does not have money to buy a sheep she can give two *doves or *pigeons (birds) to the *Lord. The *priest will use one bird for a *sin *offering and he will burn the other one. That is how he will make *atonement for her. Then she will be *clean.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses and Aaron, v2 ‘A person may have a kind of mark on his skin that might be an illness. He might give the illness to other people. If he has a mark like that, you must bring him to the *priest. v3 The *priest must look at the mark. If the hair on the mark is white, it might be an illness. If the mark is under the skin and on the skin it might be an illness. The *priest must say that the person is not *clean. v4 If the mark on the skin is white but not under the skin it might not be an illness. If the hair on the skin is not white, it might not be a bad illness. The *priest must keep him separate from the people for 7 (seven) days. v5 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the person. The mark may not be any bigger. If it is not, he must keep the person separate from the people for 7 (seven) more days. v6 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the person. The mark may not be so dark and it may not be any bigger. The *priest can say that the illness has left that person. The person must wash his clothes. v7 A person might see that the mark on his skin had grown. This might happen after the *priest had said that the illness had left him. Then the person must go again to the *priest. v8 The *priest must look at the person. The mark might be bigger. The *priest must say that the person has an illness. It is an illness that he could give to other people.
v9 If a person has an illness on his skin, you must bring him to the *priest. v10 The *priest must look at the person. If the skin has a white mark and white hair on it, the person has an illness. If the mark has no skin on part of it, the person has an illness. But it may not be an illness that he could give to other people. v11 The *priest must say that the person is not *clean. The *priest need not keep him separate from the people. He already has an illness.
v12 If the illness is all over the body of the person, the *priest must look at the person. v13 If the skin is all white the *priest must say that the person is *clean. v14 If there is an open hole in the skin, the person is not *clean. v15 The *priest will see the hole in the skin. He must say that the person has an illness. v16 The hole might close up and the skin might go white. If it does, the person must go to the *priest. v17 The *priest must look at the skin. It may be white. The priest must say that the illness has left the person. Then he will be *clean.
v18 A mark on the skin of a person might have water under it. Then it might get better. v19 If there is still a red or white mark on the skin, the person must go to the *priest. v20 The *priest must look at the person. The red mark might be under the skin and the hair on the skin might be white. The *priest must say that the person has an illness. The person is not *clean. v21 If the red mark is not under the skin, it might not be an illness. There may not be any white hair on the red mark and the mark may be less red. If that is true, it might not be an illness. The *priest must keep the person separate from the people for 7 (seven) days. v22 The red mark may get bigger. The *priest must say that the person has an illness. v23 If the red mark is not getting bigger, the illness is getting better. The *priest must say that the illness has left the person.
v24 A person who has burnt his skin might have a red or white mark. It might be where he burnt himself. v25 The *priest must look at him. If the hair on the mark is white, it is an illness. If the mark is under the skin and on the skin, it is an illness. The *priest must say that the person is not *clean. He might give the illness to other people. v26 There may not be any white hair and the mark may not be under the skin. The illness is leaving the person. Then the *priest must keep him separate from the people for 7 (seven) days. v27 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the person. If the mark is getting bigger, it is an illness. The *priest must say that the person is not *clean. v28 If the mark is getting smaller, it is not an illness. The mark is because the person burnt himself. The *priest must say that the person is *clean.
v29 A person may have a mark that hurts on his head. v30 The *priest must look at the mark. The mark may be under the skin and on the skin, and it may have thin yellow hair on it. That is a bad illness. He could give that illness to other people. The *priest must say that the person is not *clean. v31 If the mark is not under the skin, it might not be a bad illness. If there is not any black hair on the mark, it might not be an illness. The *priest must keep that person separate from the people for 7 (seven) days. v32 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the mark that is hurting. The mark might not be under the skin. There might not be any yellow hair on it. v33 The person must cut the hair off his head. He must not cut the hair for 7 (seven) more days. v34 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the mark that is hurting. The mark may be no bigger and not under the skin. The *priest can say that the person is *clean. The person must wash his clothes. v35 The mark might get bigger after the *priest has said that the illness has left the person. v36 The *priest must look at the mark. If it is bigger, he need not look for yellow hair. The person is not *clean. v37 The mark may be no bigger and black hair may have grown on it. If that is true, the illness has left the person.
v38 If a person has white marks on his skin, v39 the *priest must look at the marks. If the colour of the marks is not bright, it is not an illness. The person is *clean.
v40 The hair may fall from the head of a man until he is bald. That man remains *clean. v41 If the hair falls from the front of the man’s head, it is bald. The man is *clean. v42 If the man has a red and white mark on his bald head, it is an illness. v43 The *priest must look at the red and white mark on the bald head. v44 The *priest must say that the man has an illness. It is an illness that he might give to other people,
v45 A person with this illness must tear his clothes. He must not comb his hair. He must cover the lower part of his face. He must shout, “I am not *clean.” v46 He must be alone all the time that he has an illness. He must live outside the *camp.
v47 Clothes might become bad because of *mildew. v48 People might have made the clothes from *wool, *linen cloth or leather. v49 If the mark in the clothes is green or red, the *mildew is growing. People must show these clothes to the *priest. v50 The *priest must look at the *mildew. And he must keep the clothes separate from other clothes for 7 (seven) days. v51 On the 7th (seventh) day, the *priest must look at the clothes. If the illness is getting bigger, the person must not wear them. v52 The *priest must burn the *wool, leather or *linen clothes. They have an illness that will destroy them.
v53 When the *priest looks at the clothes, the *mildew might not be getting bigger. v54 He must tell the people that they must wash the clothes. The people must keep these clothes separate from their other clothes for 7 (seven) more days. v55 The *priest will look at the clothes after the people have washed them. If the *mildew still seems the same, the people must not wear the clothes. The people must burn the clothes whether the mark is inside or outside them. v56 The colour of the mark might be less bright, after the people have washed the clothes. If it is, the *priest must tear the marked part out of the clothes. v57 If the *mildew comes back to the clothes, the people must burn them. v58 If there is no *mildew in the washed clothes, the people must wash the clothes again. Then the clothes will be clean.’
v59 These are the rules for *mildew in *linen cloth. They are rules for *wool or leather clothes. They tell the *priest how to know whether they are *clean or not *clean.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘These rules are for a person who has had an illness on his skin. They are rules about how to make him *clean. When the illness leaves the person, you must bring him to the *priest. v3 The *priest must go outside the *camp and he must look at the person. If the illness has gone away, v4 he must speak to the person. He must tell the person that he must bring two birds. They must be birds that are good for food. The birds must be alive. They must also bring wood from the *cedar tree, red *wool and some *hyssop (a plant). v5 The *priest will bring a pot with water in it. He will hold one of the birds over the pot and he will kill it. v6 The *priest will take the other bird and the wood from the *cedar tree. He will take the red *wool and the *hyssop. He will put all of them into the blood of the dead bird. v7 The *priest will *shake the blood over the person who had the illness. He will do this 7 times. The *priest will then say that the person is *clean. The *priest will let the live bird go. It will fly away.
v8 The person who had the illness must wash his clothes. He must wash his body with water and he must cut off all his hair. Then he will be *clean. He can go into the *camp. But he must stay outside the home that he has made from animal skins for seven days. v9 On day seven, he must cut all the hair off his head and his face. He must wash his clothes and his body with water.
v10 On the 8th day, the person must bring two young male sheep and one female sheep. The female sheep must be one year old. All the animals must be *perfect. He must also bring 3/10th of an ephah of flour (about 6 litres or 12 pints) mixed with oil. And he must bring a log (about 0.3 litres or half a pint) of oil. v11 The *priest who is making him *clean must be there. He must bring the person to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. The person must bring with him his *offerings to the *Lord.
v12 The *priest must take one of the male sheep and the oil. He must lift them up to the *Lord as a gift. v13 He must kill the sheep at the north side of the *altar. That is where they kill the *sin *offering and the burnt *offering. The gift is *holy. It is food for the *priests. v14 The *priest must put some of the blood on the lowest part of the person’s right ear. He must put blood on the *thumb of the person’s right hand. And he must put blood on the big toe of the person’s right foot. v15 The *priest must pour some of the oil into his own left hand. v16 He must put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He must *shake the oil seven times in front of the *altar. v17 The *priest must put oil on the lowest part of the person’s right ear. He must put some of the oil on the *thumb of the person’s right hand. He must put some of the oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. He will put the oil on top of the *offering’s blood. v18 The *priest must put the oil that he did not use on the person’s head. This makes his *atonement in front of the *Lord.
v19 Then the priest must *offer the *sin *offering. That will make *atonement for the man who will become *clean. Then the *priest must kill another sheep. It is a burnt *offering. v20 The *priest must *sacrifice the dead animal. It is a burnt *offering. The *priest must *offer it on the *altar. He must burn the flour and the oil with it on the *altar. All this will make *atonement for the person. This makes the person who had the illness *clean.
v21 If the person is poor, he must bring one young male sheep. And he must bring 1/10th of an *ephah of flour (about 2 litres or 4 pints) mixed with oil. And he must give a log (about 0.3 litres or half a pint) of oil. The *priest must lift them to the *Lord. v22 The person must also bring two birds. They must be doves or pigeons. These will be his gift to the *Lord. One bird is for a *sin *offering and the other one is for a burnt *offering.
v23 On the 8th (eighth) day, the person must bring his gifts to the *Lord. He must bring them to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. v24 The *priest will take the young sheep and the oil and he will lift them up to the *Lord. v25 He will kill the sheep. He will put some of its blood on the lowest part of the person’s ear. He will put the blood on the *thumb of the person’s right hand. He will put the blood on the big toe of the person’s right foot. v26 The *priest will pour some of the oil into his own left hand. v27 He will put a finger from his right hand into the oil. He will *shake it seven times in front of the *altar. v28 He will put oil from his hand on the lowest part of the person’s ear. He will also put oil on the *thumb of the person’s right hand. He will put oil on the big toe of the person’s right foot. v29 The *priest will put the oil that he did not use on the person’s head. Then the *Lord can see that he is *clean. v30 The *priest will kill the *pigeons or *doves. v31 One bird is for a *sin *offering. The *priest will burn the other bird with the *grain *offering. This is how the *priest will make *atonement in front of the *Lord. He will do it for the person who was not *clean.
v32 These are the rules for a person who had an illness in his skin. They are for an illness that he might give to other people. They are for people who are too poor to buy three sheep.’
v33 The *Lord said to Moses and Aaron, v34 ‘The country called Canaan is my gift to you. I may put an illness called *mildew in a house in that country. v35 If a person finds *mildew in his house, he must tell the *priest. He must say, “I have found something like *mildew in my house.” v36 The *priest will tell the person what he should do. The person must take everything out of the house. If he does, those things will still be *clean. Then the *priest will go into the house. v37 He will look at the walls of the house. He will look for a green or red mark. If the mark goes into the wall, v38 the *priest will leave the house. He will shut it up for 7 (seven) days. v39 On the 7th day, the *priest will return to the house. The *mildew may be bigger. v40 The *priest must say, “You must remove the stones that have *mildew.” The person must put the stones outside the town. He must put them in a special place. v41 The person must cut the *clay from inside the walls of the house. The person must put the *clay from the walls outside the town. The person must put it in a place for things that are not *clean. v42 The person who lives in the house must get some more stones. He must get some more *clay. Then he can mend the wall.
v43 A person might find *mildew on the wall that he has mended. He must tell the *priest. v44 The *priest will look at the house. If the *mildew is on more of the mended wall, the house is not *clean. v45 The person must break the house into pieces. The person who lives in the house must put the stones outside the town. He must put the wood and the *clay outside the town. He must put them in the place for things that are not *clean.
v46 A person may go into the house while it is shut up. If he does, he will not become *clean until evening. v47 Any person who sleeps in a house with *mildew must wash his clothes. And any person who eats in a house with *mildew must wash his clothes.
v48 If a person mends his house, the *priest must look at it. There may not be any *mildew. So, the *priest will say that it is *clean. v49 The person must take two birds and some wood from the *cedar tree. He must take red *wool and *hyssop (a plant). v50 The *priest will bring a pot with water in it. He will hold one of the birds over the pot and he will kill it. v51 The *priest will take the other bird and the wood from the *cedar tree. He will take the red *wool and the *hyssop. He will put all of them into the blood of the dead bird. He will *shake the blood and water over the house 7 (seven) times. This will make the house *clean. v52 The *priest will use the birds and the wood from the *cedar tree. And he will use the *wool and the *hyssop to make the house clean. v53 Then the *priest will take the bird that is alive outside the town. He will let the bird fly away. And the person can live in the house.’
v54 These are the rules for an illness in a person’s skin. v55 These are the rules for *mildew in clothes or in a house. v56 These are the rules for a mark on or under the skin. v57 These rules decide when a person has an illness. And they decide when he is *clean. They show when a house has an illness. They are the rules for illnesses in the skin and for *mildew.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses and Aaron, v2 ‘Say to Israel’s people, “If *pus is coming out of a man’s body, he is *unclean.” v3 The man is *unclean if the *pus pours. And he is unclean even if it stops pouring.
v4 If the man sits on a bed, it becomes *unclean. If the man sits on anything, it becomes *unclean. v5 A person who touches the bed must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. v6 Any person might sit on anything that he has sat on. That will make him *unclean also. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v7 A person who touches the *dirty man must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v8 A man who is *dirty might make another person wet with water. If the water is from his mouth, the other person must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v9 A *dirty man might ride on an animal. The cloth on the back of the animal will become *unclean. v10 A person who touches that cloth will be *unclean until evening. If a person picks up that cloth, he must wash his clothes. He must also wash his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v11 The *dirty man might touch another person before the man washes his hands. The person that he touched becomes *unclean. The person must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v12 If the *dirty man touches a *clay pot, you must break it. Or he may touch a thing that someone has made from wood. If he touches it, you must wash that thing.
v13 The *pus may stop coming out of a person. When it does, he must count 7 (seven) days. He must wash his clothes and his body with fresh water. Then the man will be *clean. v14 On the 8th day, he must take two birds to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. They must be doves or pigeons. He must give them to the *priest. v15 The *priest will *sacrifice them. One bird is for a *sin *offering and the other is for a burnt *offering. They are an *atonement to the *Lord. Then the man will be *clean.
v16 When *semen comes out of a man, he must wash his body. He will be *unclean until evening. v17 You must wash any clothes that *semen touches. They are *unclean until evening. v18 A man might lie with a woman. If *semen comes out of him, they are both *unclean. They must wash their bodies. They will be *unclean until evening.
v19 A woman will bleed every month. She is *unclean for seven days. A person might touch the woman when she is bleeding. That person will remain *unclean until evening.
v20 The woman who is bleeding might lie on a bed. The bed will become *unclean. If the woman sits on something, it becomes *unclean. v21 If another person touches the bed, he must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. v22 Another person might sit on the thing that she sat on. That person must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. v23 A person might touch anything that the woman sat on. If he does, he is *unclean until evening.
v24 A man might lie down with a woman. If her blood touches him, he is *unclean for seven days. Any bed that the man lies on becomes *unclean.
v25 If a woman is bleeding for more than seven days, she is *unclean. She is *unclean all the time that she is bleeding. v26 The bed that the woman lies on becomes *unclean. Anything that the woman sits on is *unclean. v27 If another person touches the chair, he becomes *unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. If another person touches the bed, he will also become *unclean. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening.
v28 When the woman stops bleeding, she must count 7 (seven) days. Then she will be *clean. v29 On the 8th day, she must take two birds to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. They must be *doves or *pigeons. She must give them to the *priest. He will *sacrifice one bird for her *sin and he will burn the other. v30 He will kill them as an *atonement to the *Lord. Then the woman will be *clean.
v31 The *Tent of Meeting is the *Lord’s house. It is among Israel’s people. The *priests must keep the people away from anything that makes them *unclean. If they are not *clean, they will make the *Tent of Meeting *unclean. So they will die.’
v32 These are the rules when *pus or *semen come from a man’s body. v33 These are the rules for a woman when she bleeds each month. These are the rules for a man who has sex with an *unclean woman.
v1 The *Lord spoke to Moses after the two sons of Aaron died. The gift that they gave to the *Lord was not *holy. So the *Lord killed them. v2 The Most *Holy Place in the *Tent of Meeting is behind the curtain. The *Lord said to Moses, ‘Your brother Aaron cannot go behind the curtain at any time that he wants to. Tell him that. The *Lord appears in a cloud over the lid of the *Covenant Box. So Aaron will die if he does not obey the *Lord.
v3 This is how Aaron must go into the Most *Holy Place. He must bring a young bull (a male cow) for a *sin *offering. He must also bring a male sheep for a burnt *offering. v4 He must wash his body before he puts on his special clothes. He must wear his *linen *robe and *linen clothes next to his body. They are *holy to the *Lord. He must tie a *linen belt round his body. He must put the *linen hat on his head. These clothes are *holy. v5 He must take two male goats for a *sin *offering. And he must take a male sheep as an *offering to burn on the *altar. They are a gift to the *Lord from Israel’s people.
v6 Aaron must *offer the bull (male cow) as an *atonement to the *Lord for himself, his family and his servants. v7 He must take the two goats to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. They are a gift to the *Lord. v8 He must use the *Lord’s special stones. They will help him to decide what he should do. He must decide which goat is for the *Lord. And he must decide which goat he must send away. v9 Aaron must take the goat that is for the *Lord. And he must kill it. It is a *sin *offering. v10 He must not kill the other goat. It is an *atonement to the *Lord. It will pay for the bad things that the people have done. It is to take away the people’s *punishment. He must send it away into the *desert.’
Verse 8 The special stones were called ‘Urim’ and ‘Thummim’. See Deuteronomy 33:8.
v11 ‘Aaron must bring the bull (male cow) and he must kill it. It is his *atonement for his family’s *sins. v12 He must take a pot of the hot material that is burning on the *altar. He must fill his two hands with *incense. He must take the hot material and the *incense behind the curtain. v13 He must put the *incense on the burning material. The smoke will cover the lid of the *Covenant Box. So he will not die. v14 He must take with him blood from the *bull. He must use his finger to *shake the blood. He must *shake it on to the lid of the *Covenant Box. He must *shake the blood in front of the lid of the *Covenant Box. He must *shake it seven times with his finger.
v15 Aaron must kill the goat for the *sin *offering. It is a gift to the *Lord from the people. He must take the blood behind the curtain. He must *shake the blood on the lid of the *Covenant Box as he did with the *bull’s blood. And he must *shake the blood in front of the lid of the *Covenant Box. v16 This will make *atonement for all the *sins of Israel’s people. This will make the *Holy Place *clean. Aaron must do the same for the *Tent of Meeting. That is because the people have done bad things in the *camp. The *Tent of meeting is in the middle of the *camp. v17 Aaron must give the *offerings to the *Lord. He must give them for his family and he must give them for his servants. He must give them for all the people. Nobody can go into the *Tent of Meeting while Aaron is in the Most *Holy Place. He must be alone when he goes in. And he must be alone until he comes out. He must be alone when he gives the *offerings to the *Lord. Those *offerings are for himself, for his family and for all Israel’s people.
v18 He must go to the *altar that is in front of the *Lord. He must make *atonement for it. He must take blood from the bull (male cow) and blood from the goat. He must put the blood on the corners of the *altar. v19 He must *shake blood on the *altar seven times to make it clean.
v20 Aaron must first *atone for the Most *Holy Place, the *Tent of meeting and the *altar. Then he must bring the goat that is alive. v21 He must put his hands on the goat’s head. He must speak aloud all the bad things that Israel’s people have done. Then all the bad things will be on the goat’s head. Aaron must tell a man that he must send the goat away into the *desert. v22 The goat will carry all the *sins of the people into the *desert. The man must send it away into the *desert.
v23 Aaron must go into the *Tent of Meeting. He must take off the *holy clothes. The *holy clothes must stay in the *Tent of Meeting. v24 He must wash his body in a *holy place. He must put on his own clothes. He must leave the *holy place. Then he must *sacrifice the burnt *offerings to the *Lord. They will make *atonement for himself and for the people. v25 And he must also burn the fat from the *sin *offering on the *altar.
v26 The person who sent the goat away must wash his clothes and his body. He can return to the *camp. v27 Aaron had killed a bull (male cow) and a goat. He took their blood into the Most *Holy Place to make *atonement. Someone must carry their dead bodies outside the *camp. He must burn them. That man must burn the skin, the meat and the inside parts. v28 The man who burnt the animals must wash his clothes and his body. Then he can return to the *camp.
v29 On the 10th (tenth) day of the 7th (seventh) month, Israel’s people must not eat any food. This is a rule that you must obey for all time. The people who are travelling with them must not eat any food. None of them must do any work. v30 This day will make them *clean from all their *sins. The *Lord will see them as *clean people. This will be the Day of *Atonement. v31 It is a day when you do not eat any food. It is a day for rest. This is a rule from the *Lord and you must do this every year. v32 The *High *Priest is a chosen son of Aaron. And he must make *atonement. He will put on the *holy clothes. He will bring the people’s *offerings to the *Lord. v33 He will make *atonement for the Most *Holy Place. He will make *atonement for the *Tent of Meeting. He will make *atonement for the *altar. He will make *atonement for the *priests and for all the people.
v34 He will make *atonement for all the *Israelites’ *sins once every year. This rule is for now and for all time.’
The people did everything quite as the *Lord had told Moses.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Tell these rules to Aaron and his sons and all the people. v3 If a person *sacrifices a male cow, a sheep or a goat in the fields, that is a *sin. Or if a person sacrifices it in the *camp, that is a sin. v4 The animal is an *offering to the *Lord. The person should bring it to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. He should *offer it to the *Lord there. The person who *offers a *sacrifice anywhere else has *sinned. He has *sacrificed an animal in the wrong way. He must leave the *camp. v5 This rule will stop the people giving *sacrifices to the *Lord in the fields. They must bring their gifts to the *priest. They will be *fellowship *offerings. The *priest will be at the door of the *Tent of Meeting. v6 He must *shake the blood of the animal on the *Lord’s *altar. That *altar is at the door of the *Tent of Meeting. The *priest must burn the fat. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure. v7 The people give *sacrifices in the fields to *worship *idols that seem like goats. They must never do this again. This rule is for now and for all time.
v8 If an *Israelite gives a *sacrifice or a burnt *offering he must *offer it at the *Tent of Meeting’s door. A *foreigner may live among you. If he gives a *sacrifice he must *offer it to the *Lord at the *Tent of Meeting’s door. v9 If they did not *offer it to the *Lord at the *Tent of Meeting’s door they are *sinning. You must send them away from the *camp.
v10 An *Israelite or a *foreigner who lives among you must not eat blood. And they must not drink it. If somebody does, the *Lord will turn away from him. He will take that person away from his people. v11 The blood gives its life to an animal. You must put the blood on the *altar. The *Lord has given the blood to you. It *atones for your *sins and it gives life to you. v12 For this reason, Israel’s people must not eat blood. And the people who are travelling with them must not eat blood.
v13 A person may catch an animal or a bird that is *clean to eat. If he does, he must pour its blood on the ground. He must cover the blood with some earth. v14 The animal’s life is in its blood. That is why no *Israelite should eat any animal’s blood. You must send any person that eats blood away from your people.
v15 An *Israelite or a foreign person may find a dead animal. If he eats it, he must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. Then he will become *clean. A person might find an animal or a bird that a wild animal has killed. He must wash his clothes and his body. He will be *unclean until evening. v16 If that person does not wash clothes and his body, it is his own mistake.’
Animals that have died have the blood in them. And animals that other animals have killed have the blood in them. So they will not be *clean.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Tell Israel’s people that I am the *Lord their God. v3 They lived in the country called Egypt. They must not do as the people in Egypt do. I am bringing them to live in Canaan’s country. They must not do as the people in Canaan do. v4 They must obey my rules. I am the *Lord. v5 If they obey my rules, they will give me pleasure. If they obey my rules, they will remain alive. I am the *Lord.
v6 A person must not have sex with a person who belongs to his own *family. I am the *Lord.
v7 Do not have sex with your mother. You will cause your father to be ashamed.
v8 Do not have sex with a wife of your father. Your father will be ashamed.
v9 Do not have sex with your sister. Do not have sex with the sister who has the same mother but a different father from you. Do not have sex with the sister who has the same father but a different mother from you. Do not have sex with your sister even if she lives in the same house as you.
v10 Do not have sex with any granddaughter. You will be ashamed.
v11 Do not have sex with the daughter of your father and his wife. She is your sister.
v12 Do not have sex with your father’s sister. She is his sister.
v13 Do not have sex with your mother’s sister. She is her sister.
v14 Do not have sex with the wife who is married to your father’s brother. She is your aunt.
v15 Do not have sex with your son’s wife.
v16 Do not have sex with your brother’s wife. You will make your brother ashamed.
v17 Do not have sex with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sex with her son’s daughter or with her daughter’s daughter. They are her family and they are near to her. If you do this you are *sinning.
v18 Do not take your wife’s sister for a 2nd (second) wife. Do not have sex with your wife’s sister if your wife is alive.
v19 Do not have sex with a woman when she is bleeding. She does this each month.
v20 Do not have sex with the wife of another man. You would become *unclean.
v21 Do not give a child as a *sacrifice to the god called Molech. This would destroy the *Lord’s *honour. He is the *Lord.
v22 Do not have sex with another man. To do this is very wrong.
v23 Do not have sex with an animal. To do this is a *sin. It would make you *unclean. A woman must not have sex with an animal. She would not be obeying the rules of her nature.
v24 Do not do these things. They would make you *unclean. The people who live in Canaan do these things. It made them *unclean. The *Lord will send those people out of their country. v25 Canaan is *unclean because the people did these things. This is why the *Lord pushed the people out of that country. v26 But you and the *foreigners with you must not do these wrong things. v27 The people in Canaan did these bad things and the country became *unclean. v28 If you do these bad things, I will push you out of Canaan’s country. I will send you away, like the people before you.
v29 You must send away any person who does any of these bad things. v30 All the people must obey my rules. They must not do the bad things that the people in Canaan did. If they did them, my people would become *unclean. I am the *Lord your God.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Speak to Israel’s people. They must be *holy because I am *holy. You must tell them that.
v3 Each person must *respect his mother and his father. All the people must keep the *Sabbath as a day for rest. I am the *Lord your God.
v4 You must not *worship *idols. You must not use metal to make gods for yourselves. I am the *Lord your God.
v5 When a person *sacrifices a *fellowship *offering to the *Lord, he must obey the rules. If he does, the *Lord will accept the gift. v6 The people must eat the meat on the day that the person *offers it. Or they must eat it on the next day. The person must burn any meat that he has not eaten after the 2nd (second) day. v7 On the third day, the meat is not *clean. v8 If he eats the meat on the third day he makes a *holy gift *unclean. You must send him away from the *camp.
v9 When a person cuts the plants in his field, he must not cut to the edge of the field. He must not pick up what he drops. v10 If a person grows fruit to make *wine, he must not pick all of the fruit. He must not pick up the fruit that drops. The fruit that drops is for the poor people. And it is for those who are foreign. I am the *Lord your God.
v11 You must not take something that belongs to another person. You must not say something that is not true. You must obey my rules.
v12 You must not use the name of the *Lord to say a promise. This will make my name *unclean. I am the *Lord.
v13 You must not rob another person. You must not keep a slave’s money until the morning.
v14 You must not speak bad words about a person who cannot hear. You must not put something in front of a person who cannot see. The person might fall. I am the *Lord.
v15 My people must be fair to other people. They must not be more kind to a rich or important man than to a poor one. They must be fair to rich people and to poor people.
v16 They must not speak bad words about other people. They must not do anything that would cause a man to die. I am the *Lord.
v17 You must not think bad thoughts about another person. A person may do something that is wrong. You must tell him that he is doing a wrong thing. If you do, you will not be a part of the wrong thing.
v18 You must not hurt another person because he hurt you. And you must not remember for a long time the bad thing that someone did to you. You must love all people as you love yourself. I am the *Lord.
v19 The people must obey the *Lord’s rules. They must not let two different kinds of animals have sex together. They must not put two different kinds of seeds in one field. They must not make clothes from two different materials.
v20 A slave girl belongs to a man. Another man must not have sex with her. If he does, he is doing a wrong thing. But the girl is not free. He has not bought her. You must *punish them. But you must not kill them because the girl was not free. v21 The man must bring a male sheep to the door of the *Tent of Meeting. It is an *offering to the *Lord. v22 The *priest will *sacrifice the gift to the *Lord. The *sacrifice will *atone for the man’s *sin. Then the *Lord will *forgive the man.
v23 A person may plant a fruit tree in the country called Canaan. But he must not eat the fruit for (3) three years. v24 In the 4th (fourth) year, the fruit is *holy. It is an *offering to show that the *Lord is great. v25 In the 5th year, the people can eat the fruit. If they do this, the trees will give much fruit to the people. I am the *Lord your God.
v26 You must not eat any meat that has the blood in it. People must not do *magic. They must not use *magic to try to discover things that might happen.
v27 A man must not cut the hair on the sides of his head. He must not cut the edges of his beard.
v28 He must not cut his body to remember the dead people. He must not paint his body. I am the *Lord your God.
v29 He must not sell his daughter for sex. You would make her ashamed. If he does this, all the people might do the same. The whole country would become full of *sin.
v30 The *Lord has said what the people can do on the day for rest (*Sabbath). On the day for rest, the people must do only those things. They must *respect the *Lord’s house.
v31 They must not ask people who do *magic to help them. That would make Israel’s people *unclean. I am the *Lord your God.
v32 The people must stand up when they are with old people. They must *respect the old people. They must give *honour to their God. I am the *Lord your God.
v33 A foreign person may live in your country. You must be kind to him or to her. v34 People must love the person from a different country as they love themselves. They must remember the time when they lived in Egypt. Egypt was not their country. I am the *Lord your God.
v35 They must be fair when they are measuring space or weight or quantity. v36 They must use correct measures and weights. I am the *Lord that led them out of Egypt.
v37 They must obey all my rules. I am the *Lord.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Talk to Israel’s people. Say, “If any *Israelite or foreign person gives his children to the god called Molech, he must die.” The people must throw stones at him to kill him. v3 I, the *Lord, will turn away from that person. I will make him separate from his people. That person did not *respect the *Lord. He did not *respect the *Lord’s *holy name. v4 Israel’s people may not think that his *sin was important. So they might not kill him. v5 But the *Lord himself will become an enemy of the man and of his family. The *Lord will send him away with all the people who *worship the god called Molech.
v6 A person must not ask someone who does *magic for help. They are turning away from the *Lord. He will send them away from his people.
v7 The people must be *holy. I am the *Lord your God. v8 They must always obey all the *Lord’s rules. I am the *Lord who makes them *holy.
v9 If a person says bad things about his mother or his father, you must kill him. He has destroyed their *honour. His *sin will cause his death.
v10 If a man has sex with another man’s wife you must kill him and the woman.
v11 A man is *sinning if he has sex with his father’s wife. You must kill the man and the woman. They have destroyed the father’s *honour. Their *sin causes their death.
v12 A man is *sinning if he has sex with his son’s wife. You must kill them both. They have not obeyed the rules of nature. Their *sin causes their death.
v13 A man is *sinning if he has sex with another man. You must kill both of the men. They should be ashamed. Their *sin causes their death.
v14 A man is *sinning if he marries a woman and her mother. You must burn the man and both the women in the fire. Then their *sin will not make my people *unclean.
v15 A man is *sinning if he has sex with an animal. You must kill the man and the animal.
v16 A woman is *sinning if she has sex with an animal. You must kill the woman and the animal. Their *sin causes their death.
v17 It is a *sin if a man marries his sister. She may be the daughter of his father or of his mother. It is a *sin if he has sex with her. The people must send them away. He has taken away his sister’s *honour. He must carry the *punishment for his *sin.
v18 A man must not have sex with a woman when she is bleeding. If he does, it is a *sin. They have not obeyed the rules of the *Lord. The people must send them away.
v19 A man must not have sex with his mother’s sister or with his father’s sister. They are both doing a wrong thing. They are taking away the family’s *honour. Their *sin causes their *punishment.
v20 A man is *sinning if he has sex with his aunt. He is taking away his father’s brother’s *honour. They will have no children.
v21 It makes the people *unclean if a man marries his brother’s wife. He has taken away his brother’s *honour. They will not have any children.
v22 If the people want to remain in the country called Canaan, they must obey the *Lord’s rules. v23 The people who are living in Canaan now are doing bad things. I, the *Lord, *hate them because they did those things. I will send them out of Canaan. v24 I, the *Lord, will give their country to Israel’s people. I will give it to you and to your children to keep for all time. But you must obey my rules. Everything in the country is good. I am the *Lord your God. I want you to be separate from other people.
v25 The people must know which animals are *clean. And they must know which animals are *unclean. They must know which birds are *clean. And they must know which birds are *unclean. They must not eat any animal or bird that is *unclean. v26 I am *holy. So my people must be *holy for me. I have made them separate from other people. They belong to me.
v27 A man or a woman who uses *magic is doing a wrong thing. People must throw stones at that person until they die. Their *sin will cause their death.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, ‘Say this to the *priests. They must not touch a dead body. That would make them *unclean. v2 It may be the body of a person from their own *family. The *priest can touch the dead person if it is his mother or father. He can touch the dead person if it is his son or his daughter or his brother. v3 He can touch the dead person if it is his sister. But he must not touch her if she has a husband. v4 The *priest must not touch a dead person who is married to a person of his *family. That would make him *unclean.
v5 A *priest must not cut all the hair from his head. He must not cut the sides of his beard. He must not cut his body. v6 A *priest must be *holy. He must not speak bad words about the *Lord. He is the person who *sacrifices the people’s burnt *offerings to the *Lord.
v7 A *priest must not marry a woman who has left her husband. He must not marry a woman if men have paid her to have sex with them. He must not marry a woman whose husband has sent her away. A *priest must be *holy. v8 A *priest is *holy because he *sacrifices the people’s *offerings to the *Lord. A *priest is *holy because I, the *Lord, am *holy.
v9 A *priest’s daughter must not have sex with men who pay her. That would make her *unclean. She would take away her father’s *honour. If she does not obey, you must burn her in a fire.
v10 They have poured special oil on the *High *Priest’s head among his brothers. He must wear special clothes. He must comb his hair. He must not tear his clothes. v11 He must not go into a room where there is a dead body. Even if it is the body of his parent, he must not go in. It will make him *unclean. v12 He must not leave the house of the *Lord. He has the *holy oil on his head. He must be separate. I am the *Lord.
v13 The *High *Priest must marry a woman who has not had sex before. v14 The woman must not have had a husband who died. She must not have a husband that she has left. Men must not have paid to have sex with her. She must be a woman from Israel’s people v15 so their children will be *holy. I am the *Lord. I make *priests *holy.’
v16 The *Lord said to Moses, v17 ‘Talk to Aaron. Say, “A *priest who does not have a *perfect body must not *sacrifice the burnt *offerings to the *Lord.” This rule is for now and for all time. v18 A *priest who cannot see must not *sacrifice the food to the *Lord. A*priest who cannot walk must not *sacrifice food to the *Lord. A *priest with a body that is the wrong shape must not *offer food to the *Lord. v19 A *priest with a hand that is the wrong shape must not *offer food to the *Lord. A *priest with a foot that is the wrong shape must not *offer food to the *Lord. v20 A *priest with a back that is not straight must not *offer food to the *Lord. Neither must a *priest who is very small *offer a food gift. A *priest who has an eye illness or a skin illness must not offer food to the *Lord. Neither must a *priest offer food if his testicles (secret parts) are not whole. v21 If a *priest’s son has something wrong with his body, he must not come near to the *altar. He must not give the food *offering to the *Lord. v22 He can eat God’s *holy food and God’s most *holy food. v23 But none of Aaron’s family who is not *perfect can go near the *holy curtain or the *altar. He would make the *holy place *unclean. I am the *Lord. I make them *holy.’
v24 Moses told all these rules to Aaron, to his sons and to all Israel’s people.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Israel’s people give gifts to the *Lord. Those gifts are *holy. Tell Aaron and his sons that those things are *holy. Tell them that they must remember that. They must give *honour to my name. I am the *Lord.
v3 One of your sons may not be *clean. That son must not come near the *Lord’s *holy *offerings. But perhaps he may not obey my rule. He might go near to the *holy gifts. The *priests who are *clean must *punish him. They must send him away. He must go from the *Lord’s house. I am the *Lord. This rule is for now and for all time. v4 If a son of Aaron has a skin illness, he must not eat the *holy gifts. If *pus is coming from his body, he is not *clean. He must not eat the *holy *offerings until he is *clean. He might touch something that has touched a dead body. Or if he touches an *unclean man, he will become *unclean. The man may be unclean because *semen is coming from his body. v5 Aaron’s son might touch an animal that moves on its stomach. Or he might touch a person who is not *clean. If he does, Aaron’s son will be *unclean. v6 The *son of Aaron who touches any of these things will be *unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the *holy gifts until he washes his body. v7 When the sun goes down, he will be *clean. He can eat the *holy gifts. They are his food. v8 He might find something that is dead. He must not eat it. He must not eat anything that an animal has torn. It will make him *unclean. I am the *Lord.
v9 Aaron’s sons must obey the *Lord’s rules. If they do not obey them, it is a *sin. They will die. I am the *Lord who makes people *holy. v10 Only a person who is from the *priest’s *family can eat the *holy gifts. Another person who is living in the *priest’s house must not eat the *holy gifts. If a person is being paid to work for the *priest, he must not eat the *holy gifts. v11 A slave can eat the *holy gifts if he was born in the *priest’s house. Or he can eat the *holy gifts if the *priest bought him. v12 A *priest’s daughter might marry a man who is not a *priest. If she has done that, she must not eat the *holy food. v13 A *priest’s daughter’s husband might send her away. Or her husband might die. She might not have any children. She may go back to live in her father’s house. Then she can eat her father’s food.
v14 A person might make a mistake and eat a *holy gift. He must give back to the *priest the same food. He must also give 1/5th (one fifth) more. v15 The *priest must not give the *holy gifts to people who are not from Aaron’s family. The gifts would become *unclean. v16 If the people eat them they are *sinning. They will have to pay for their *sin. I am the *Lord and I make them *holy.’
v17 The *Lord said to Moses, v18 ‘Say this to Aaron, to his sons and to all the people. If any person gives a gift to the *Lord, v19 he must give a bull (male cow), a sheep or a goat. The gift may be for a promise, or to thank the *Lord for something or for a *fellowship *offering. The animal must be *perfect. v20 They must not give any animal that is not *perfect. The *Lord will not accept that animal. v21 When a person brings an animal to the *Lord as a special gift, it must be *perfect. If it is, the *Lord will accept it. v22 A person must not give to the *Lord an animal that cannot see. The animal must not have a skin illness. And *pus must not be coming from its body. The person must not burn an animal on the *altar that is not *perfect. v23 A person may give a male cow or a sheep with a body that is the wrong shape. He can use it as an *offering to eat with his friends (*fellowship *offering). But the *Lord will not take this animal as a gift for a promise. That gift must be *perfect. You must not put on the *altar an animal that is not *perfect. v24 A person must not give a gift of an animal that has something wrong with its testicles (male parts). v25 This rule is for Israel’s people. You must not take animals that are not *perfect from *foreigners. You must not *offer them to the *Lord. The *Lord will not accept them because they are not *perfect.’
v26 The *Lord said to Moses, v27 ‘When a cow or a sheep or a goat is born, it must stay with its mother for 7 (seven) days. From the 8th (eighth) day the people can give it as a burnt *offering to the *Lord. v28 They must not kill a cow or a sheep and its baby on the same day.
v29 When they *sacrifice an animal to thank the *Lord, they must *sacrifice it in the proper way. This will give the *Lord pleasure. v30 They must eat it on the day that they kill it. They must not keep any of it until the next day. I am the *Lord.
v31 The people must obey my rules. v32 I am the *Lord. They must give *honour to my *holy name. My people must believe that I am *holy. I am the *Lord. I make people *holy. v33 I brought you out of Egypt and I became your God. I am the *Lord.’
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Tell Israel’s people about the special days when they must *worship the *Lord. They are *holy days. The *Israelites must come together and have a *feast on these days.
v3 There are six days when a person can work. The seventh day is Saturday (*Sabbath). A person must not do any work on that day. It is a day when people meet together for *worship. You must not work in any place where you live. It is the *Sabbath, a day for rest.
v4 There are other special days. They are *holy *feasts. On these days you must tell the people how to obey the *Lord’s rules. v5 One special day is the 14th day of the first month. When the sun goes down, the *Passover to the *Lord begins. v6 The 15th day of the first month, the *feast of Bread Without Yeast begins. For 7 (seven) days the people must eat bread that has no *yeast in it. v7 On the first day the people must meet together and they must not work. v8 For 7 (seven) days the people must give burnt *offerings to the *Lord. On the 7th (seventh) day they must stop work and they must *worship the *Lord.’
The *Lord caused Israel’s people to stay in their houses for their last night in Egypt. They had to put a mark on their doors with blood. The *Lord’s servant who was a *spirit killed the oldest son in each house of Egypt’s people. But he passed over the houses with blood round the doors. So the *Lord saved the sons of the *Israelites. That is why this is called the *Passover *feast. (See Exodus 12:12-20.)
v9 The *Lord said to Moses, v10 ‘Tell Israel’s people this. They will go into the country that I will give to them. And then they must *harvest the *grain. They must take the first part of the *harvest in their arms. They must give this to the *priest. v11 The *priest will lift it to the *Lord. Then the *Lord will accept their gift. The *priest will do this on the day after the *Sabbath day. v12 On the same day the *priest will bring a young sheep that is *perfect to the *Lord. It must be one year old. It is a gift from the people. v13 He will also bring 2/10ths of an ephah (about 4 litres or 8 pints) of the best flour mixed with oil. He will burn the gift as a *sacrifice. The smell of it while it is burning will give the *Lord pleasure. The people must also give a ¼ hin (about 1 litre or 2 pints) of *wine as a gift to the *Lord. v14 The people must not eat any of the new *grain until they have given their gift to the *Lord. They and their children must do this now and always. They must do it in any place that they live.
v15 On the day after the *Sabbath day the people will *sacrifice their gifts to the *Lord. After this, they must count 7 (seven) weeks. v16 They must count 50 days until the day after the 7th (seventh) *Sabbath. Then they must give another gift of new *grain to the *Lord. v17 Each *family must bring two loaves of bread as a special gift to the *Lord. They must make the bread with 2/10ths ephah (about 4 litres or 8 pints) of good flour and *yeast. This gift is from the first of their *harvest fruits. v18 With the bread, all the people must bring seven *perfect sheep. They must be males, each one year old. They must bring a bull (male cow). They must also bring two older male sheep. The *priest will burn the *grain and the animals as a gift to the *Lord. The smell of them while they are burning will give the *Lord pleasure. v19 The *priest must *sacrifice one male goat as a *sin *offering. The people must give two young sheep. They must be one year old. They are a gift to the *Lord. v20 The *priest will lift the animals and the bread to the *Lord. They are a *holy *offering to the *Lord. They are for the *priest. v21 On this day, the people must not do any work. They must not work anywhere that they live. It is a special day to the *Lord now and for all time to come.
v22 When the people *harvest the *grain, they must not cut it to the edge of the field. They must not pick up any *grain that falls. Some *grain must remain in the field. It is for the poor people and for foreign people. I am the *Lord your God.’
v23 The *Lord said to Moses, v24 ‘Tell Israel’s people this. On the first day of the 7th (seventh) month, they must rest. It is a special day. They must *worship the *Lord together with the sound of *trumpets. v25 They must not work. They must burn an *offering to the *Lord.’
v26 The *Lord said to Moses, v27 ‘The 10th (tenth) day of the 7th (seventh) month is the Day of *Atonement. On that day, the people must come together. They must not eat any food. They must burn an *offering to the *Lord. v28 They must not do any work. It is a *holy day. On this special day, Aaron (the *High *Priest) must come near to the *Lord. He will make *atonement for the *sins of the people. v29 You must *punish any person who eats any food on that day. Send them away from my people. v30 I will kill any person who works on that day. v31 Nobody must work on that day. This rule is for now and for all time to come. You must obey it in any place where you are living. v32 It is a *Sabbath rest for all the people. They must not eat any food. They must rest from the evening of the 9th (ninth) day until the evening of the 10th (tenth) day.’
v33 The *Lord said to Moses, v34 ‘Tell Israel’s people that the 15th (fifteenth) day of the 7th (seventh) month is a special day. It is the Day of Houses that people have made from branches. The *feast goes on for 7 (seven) days. v35 The first day is a special day. The people must not do any work. v36 For 7 (seven) days each person must give a gift to the *Lord. The 8th (eighth) day is *holy. The people must come together and they must give a burnt *offering to the *Lord. This is the last day of the *feast. The people must not do any work on that day.
v37 These are the rules for the special days of the *Lord. You must tell people that they must bring *offerings to the *Lord on these days. They will bring gifts for burnt *offerings each day. They must bring *offerings of *grain, animals and *wine. v38 These are not the usual *Sabbath gifts. They are not gifts to give thanks or for promises. But they are extra gifts for special days.
v39 When the people have picked the *grain, they can enjoy 7 (seven) *feast days. The special days will begin on the 15th (fifteenth) day of the 7th (seventh) month. On the first day and on the 8th (eighth) day they can rest. v40 On the first day, they must take fruit and leaves from the trees. Then for 7 (seven) days they must *worship the *Lord. v41 They must do this for 7 (seven) days of each year. They must obey this rule in the 7th (seventh) month now, and for all the years to come. v42 All Israel’s people must live in houses that they have made from branches for 7 (seven) days. v43 The people in the future will know that the *Lord brought Israel’s people out of Egypt. They will know that he is the *Lord. And he caused them to live in houses that they made from branches. I am the *Lord, your God.’
v44 Moses told the people all that the *Lord had told him.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Tell Israel’s people that they must bring to you the best oil. This will cause the light to burn all the time. v3 Aaron must put more oil in the *lamp from evening to morning. The *lamp is outside the curtain. That curtain is in the *Holy Place. The light must never go out. This rule is for now and for all time to come. v4 The *lamps on the gold thing that holds the lamps must burn always.
v5 The people must bake 12 loaves of bread. They must use the best flour. They must weigh the flour for each loaf. They must use 2/10ths of an *ephah (4 litres or 8 pints). v6 They must put the loaves on a table in two *rows. There must be six loaves in each *row. v7 They must put *incense near each *row. They must burn the *incense as a gift to the *Lord instead of the bread. v8 They must put the bread on the table every *Sabbath. It is a *covenant between Israel’s people and the *Lord. v9 The bread is for Aaron and for his sons. They must eat it in a *holy place. It is their *holy part of the burnt *offering to the *Lord.’
v10 There was a man. His mother was an *Israelite and his father was a man from Egypt. The man had a quarrel with an Israelite man. v11 The *Israelite woman’s son said bad things about the *Lord. The people took him to Moses. (The name of the mother was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri from the family of Dan.) v12 They locked the man up. The *Lord told them what to do with him.
v13 The *Lord said to Moses, v14 ‘Take the man outside the *camp. All the people who heard him speak must put a hand on him. All the people must throw stones at him until he is dead. v15 Tell Israel’s people, “It is a *sin if any man says bad things about the *Lord’s name. v16 He must die. All the people must throw stones at him until he is dead.” You must kill anyone who says bad things about the *Lord’s name. They may be a *foreigner or an *Israelite. You must kill them.
v17 If any man kills another man you must kill him. v18 A man might kill an animal that belongs to another man. He must give an animal that is alive to the man. You must give a living animal if you take a living animal’s life. v19 If a man hurts another man, you must also hurt him. v20 Whatever the man does to another man, the other man can do to him. If he takes an eye, you can take an eye. If he breaks a bone, you can break his bone. If he takes a tooth, you can take his tooth. v21 A man may kill an animal. That man must give back an animal that is alive. But if he kills a man, you must kill him. v22 This rule is for all the people. It is the same rule for *Israelites and *foreigners. I am the *Lord your God.’
v23 Moses spoke to Israel’s people. A man had said bad things about the *Lord. They took him outside the *camp. They threw stones at him until he died. Israel’s people did as the *Lord had told Moses.
v1 Moses was on Sinai’s mountain. The *Lord spoke to him there. v2 The *Lord said, ‘Speak to Israel’s people. They will go into the country that I will give to them. Then the land must have a *Sabbath rest. v3 They can plant seeds in the fields for 6 (six) years. They can cut the leaves of the plants and they can *harvest the fruit for six years. v4 In the 7th (seventh) year, the land must have a rest. They must not plant seeds in the fields or cut the leaves. v5 They must not *harvest fruit or *grain. The land must have a year for rest. v6 All of the people can eat anything that grows by itself in the *Sabbath year. That will be food for you and for your servants and for your animals. And other people who live among you can eat it. v7 The wild animals also can eat anything that grows by itself in the *Sabbath year.
v8 The people must count 7 (seven) lots of *Sabbath years (7x7 years). That is 49 years. v9 In the 50th year they must make loud music. They must blow *trumpets on the 10th (tenth) day of the 7th (seventh) month. That is the Day of *Atonement. They must blow the *trumpet through all the country. v10 The year will be special. It is a *Jubilee year. It is a time for every one of my people to become free. Everyone can return to his own land and to his *family. v11 The 50th year is a *Jubilee year. The people must not plant any seed in the fields. They must not *harvest anything that grows by itself on the bushes. v12 It is a *Jubilee year for the people. And they can eat only food that they take from the fields.
v13 In the *Jubilee year every person must return to the land of his *family.
v14 If the people buy and sell land from each other, they must be honest with each other. v15 The person who is selling the land will fix a price. He must count the number of years until the next *Jubilee year. v16 When there are many years, the price must be big. When there are few years, the price must be small. What the person is selling are the plants from the fields. v17 Be honest with each other and *respect the *Lord. I am the *Lord your God.
v18 The people must obey the *Lord’s rules. If they do, they will be safe. v19 You will be able to grow food on the land. And the people will have plenty to eat. They will be safe. v20 The people may ask what they shall eat in the seventh year. They will not have planted any seeds. v21 The *Lord will cause a lot of food to grow in the 6th (sixth) year. They will have food for three more years. v22 When a person plants seed in the 8th (eighth) year he will still be eating the *harvest from the 6th (sixth) year. The next time he will *harvest the plants from the fields will be in the 9th (ninth) year.
v23 The people must never sell the land for all time. The land belongs to the *Lord. He has said that the people can live on it. v24 A person may buy land. But he must remember that he may have to sell it back to the seller.
v25 If a man becomes poor, he can sell some of his land. A person from his *family must buy the land back for the man. v26 But the man might not have any *family. If he stops being poor, he can buy the land back. v27 He must count how many years until the next *Jubilee year. He must pay the right amount of money for the land. Then he can live on the land again. v28 If the man is too poor to buy the land back, it will belong to the other person. It will belong to the other person until the next *Jubilee year. He must return it to the poor man in the *Jubilee year.
v29 A man may sell a house in a city with walls. For one year after he sells it, he can buy it back. v30 If the man does not buy back the house, it will belong to the other person and his sons. It will belong to them for all time. They will not have to return it in the *Jubilee year. v31 If the house is in a village, a person can buy it back. If he does not buy it back, they will return it to him in the *Jubilee year.
v32 The *Levites (people from the *family of Levi) can buy back the houses in their towns. v33 In the *Jubilee year, the *Levites must get back the houses that they sold. Their towns belong to the *Levites. v34 The *Levites must not sell the fields that belong to their towns. The *Lord gave to them their towns and cities to live in for all time.
v35 An *Israelite may become poor. He may not be able to feed his family. You must help him. You would help a visitor or a *foreigner in the same way. You must help the man so that he can continue to live among you. v36 The man must not pay back more than you gave to him. You must obey the *Lord. v37 The person who is feeding the man might give money or food to him. He must not ask for more back than he gave. v38 I am the *Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. I brought you into this country to be your God.
v39 If an *Israelite becomes poor, he might sell himself to another person. He must not work as a slave for that person. He must be like a paid servant. v40 He must work for that person until the next *Jubilee year. v41 In the *Jubilee year, you will make him free. He and his children can go back to his own house and *family. v42 Israel’s people belong to the *Lord. I took them out of Egypt. They must not be slaves. v43 You must be kind to all *Israelites. Remember to obey your God.
v44 Israel’s people can buy male and female slaves. Those slaves must come from other countries. v45 And *Israelites can buy people from other countries who live among them. They may have children who were born in your country. You can buy them. They will become slaves. v46 You can give the slaves to your children when you die. But you must rule Israel’s people in a kind way.
v47 A person from another country may become rich. Then he might buy an *Israelite who became poor. But the poor man can buy himself back at any time. v48 A person from the *family of the poor man can buy him back. v49 A brother or a cousin of the poor man can buy him back. If the poor man becomes rich, he can pay to make himself free. v50 The man and the person who bought him must count the time until the *Jubilee year. The man must pay the right amount of money to be free. v51 The *Jubilee year may be many years away. If it is, the man must pay a lot of money to be free. v52 There may be a few years until the *Jubilee year. If there are, he has to pay only a small amount of money to be free. v53 The person who has bought the man must pay him each year. You must cause the rich man to be kind to the man.
v54 Perhaps nobody will pay any money for the man. But the man who bought him must make him free in the *Jubilee year. v55 Israel’s people belong to me. I brought them out of Egypt. They are my servants. I am the *Lord.
v1 You must not make *idols from stones and *worship them. You must not draw things on stones and bend down in front of them. I am the *Lord your God.
v2 You must rest on *Sabbath days and you must keep them *holy. You must *respect the *Lord’s house. I am the *Lord.
v3 The people must carefully obey the rules. v4 If they do, I will send rain at the proper time. Plants for food will grow in the ground. Fruit will grow on your trees. v5 The people will *harvest *grain until the *grapes are ready to eat. They will *harvest the *grapes until it is the time to plant seeds. They will have all the food to eat that they need. I will keep them safe in their country.
v6 I will stop war in Israel. When the people sleep, they will not be afraid. I will take the wild animals away. Other people will not hurt my people. v7 Israel’s enemies will run away from them. They will kill their enemies. v8 Five (5) of you will run after 100 of them. And 100 of you will run after 1000 enemies. You will kill all your enemies.
v9 I will do good things for your people and I will give many children to them. Their number will grow. I will do everything that I have promised to do for them. v10 They will have so much food that some will remain after the next *harvest. v11 I will live among the people. I will never turn away from them. v12 I will walk among the people. They will belong to me. v13 I am the *Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. You will not be the slaves of people in Egypt. I saved you so that you need not be ashamed.
v14 The *Lord will be angry if the people do not listen to him. He will be angry if they do not obey his rules. v15 The people may not *respect or obey the *Lord’s rules. So they will not be doing what they promised to him. v16 So the *Lord will send illnesses to the people. They will be afraid. The people will have illnesses in their eyes. They will get thin and they will die. They will plant their seed and their enemies will eat the fruit. v17 The *Lord will fight against you. Your enemies will win the war. They will become your rulers. Your soldiers will run away even when nobody is running after them.
v18 The people may not obey the *Lord even after this. If they do not, the *Lord will *punish them 7 (seven) times more strongly. v19 He will make them ashamed. He will not send any rain and the land will be hard and dry. v20 Even if they do a lot of work, no *grain will grow. No fruit will grow on the trees.
v21 The people may still not listen to the *Lord. If they do not, he will be 7 (seven) times more angry. If they do not obey him, he will cause their lives to be 7 (seven) times more difficult. v22 He will send wild animals to kill their children and their animals. The country will be almost empty.
v23 The people may still not listen to the *Lord. If they do not, he will be angry. v24 He will become their enemy. If they do not obey him, he will *punish them 7 (seven) times more strongly. v25 He will send enemy soldiers to kill the people. They have not done what they promised to do. So he will *punish them for that. If they go back to their cities, he will send them illnesses. The enemy will win the war. v26 The people will not have any food. A woman will bake one loaf for ten families. They will weigh it to give one part to each family. When a person eats his piece of bread, he will still be hungry.
v27 If the people still turn away from the *Lord, he will be even more angry. They will not turn away from their *sin. v28 So he will turn away from them. He will *punish them 7 (seven) times more again. v29 They will be so hungry that they will eat their own children. v30 The *Lord will destroy the places where they *worship false gods. He will destroy their very bad *incense *altars. He will put their dead bodies round their *idols. He will *hate them. v31 He will destroy the cities. He will destroy the places for wrong *worship. Nobody will burn *incense to give the *Lord pleasure. v32 The *Lord will destroy the land. He will cause the enemies who live in your country to *hate it. v33 The *Lord will push you out. He will send your people away to other countries. He will destroy your cities. And he will make your land a *desert. v34 The land will have a *Sabbath rest while there are no people in it. v35 All the time that it is empty, the land will have rest. It will have the *Sabbath rest that it did not have. It did not have it when you lived in it.
v36 Some of Israel’s people will remain in other countries. They will be frightened. A leaf that is blowing in the wind will cause them to run away. It will be like when an enemy is running after them. They will fall even if no enemy is running after them. v37 They will fall over each other when nobody is running after them. They will not be strong enough to fight their enemies. v38 They will die in the countries where they are living. Those countries will cause their deaths. v39 Those who remain here will die because of their *sins. They will die because their fathers and grandfathers did not obey the *Lord.
v40 Your sons and your grandsons must tell me, the *Lord, that they are sorry. They must be sorry because they did not obey my rules. They must be sorry that they turned away from me. v41 They must remember that they made me angry. They caused me to turn away from them. I am the *Lord, and I sent them into their enemies’ country. They will be sorry until I have *punished them enough. v42 Then I will remember my *covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will remember that I gave their land to them. v43 Before this, the country will be empty and it will have a rest. My people will pay for the bad things that they did. v44 But I, the *Lord, will not kill all of them. The people will be living in their enemies’ country. Then I will remember them. I will not leave them alone. I will remember my *covenant with their fathers. I am the *Lord, their God. v45 The *Lord will remember his *covenant with the people that he brought out of Egypt. The people in every country saw him do this. He is the *Lord.’
v46 These are the rules that the *Lord gave to Moses on the mountain called Sinai. They are his *covenant with Israel’s people.
See Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 6.
v1 The *Lord said to Moses, v2 ‘Speak to Israel’s people. Tell them this. A person might give another person to the *Lord for a special promise. v3 They can make that person free. But they must give the right amount of money to the *Lord. For a man between 20 years and 60 years old, they must give 50 pieces of *silver. v4 For a woman, they must give 30 pieces of *silver. v5 For a male between five years and 20 years old, they must give to the *Lord 20 pieces of *silver. For a female, they must give 10 pieces of *silver. v6 For a boy between one month and five years old, they must give five pieces of *silver. For a girl of the same age, the *Lord must have three pieces of *silver. v7 If a man is older than 60 years, they must give 15 pieces of *silver. For a woman, they must give 10 pieces of *silver. v8 A person might say this special promise to the *Lord. But he might be too poor to pay the money. He must bring the person to the *priest. The *priest will tell the person how much money to pay. The *priest will know how much money the man can give.
v9 If the promise is to give an animal to the *Lord, the animal becomes *holy. v10 The person must not change a good animal for a bad animal. He must not change a bad animal for a good animal. If the person does change one animal for another, both the animals become *holy. v11 The animal might be an animal that you must not eat. If it is, the person must bring it to the *priest. v12 The *priest will decide if the animal is good or bad. v13 The person might want to buy the animal back. He must pay the price of the animal and 1/5 (one fifth) more.
v14 A person might give his house to the *Lord. The *priest will decide if the house is good or bad. The *priest will decide the price of the house. v15 The person might want to buy the house back. He must pay the price of the house and 1/5th (one fifth) more. Then it will again belong to him.
v16 A person might give part of his land to the *Lord. The person will decide the price by how much seed the land needs. The price will be 50 pieces of *silver for a homer (220 litres or 6 bushels) of seed. v17 If a person gives his land in a *Jubilee year, the price is the same. v18 A person might give his land after the *Jubilee year. The *priest will count the number of years before the next *Jubilee. The price will be less. v19 A person might want to buy the land back. He must pay the price of the land and 1/5th (one fifth) more. v20 He may not buy it back before the year of *Jubilee. Then the field becomes *holy. But the man may have sold the land to another person. If he has, he cannot get it back. v21 In the *Jubilee year the land will become *holy. Then it will belong to the *priests.
v22 A person might buy some land from another family. He might give that land to the *Lord. v23 The *priest will count how many years there are until the *Jubilee year. The person must pay the money on that day. The money is *holy to the *Lord. v24 In the *Jubilee year, the land returns to the family from whom he bought it. v25 The *priest must decide the price of the land. He must use the correct measures.
v26 The first baby that an animal has is *holy. It belongs to the *Lord. A person cannot give it as a special gift to the *Lord. v27 The animal might be an *unclean animal (an animal that they must not eat). The person can pay the price of the animal and 1/5 (one fifth) more to get it back. If the person does not buy it back, the *priest will sell it.
v28 A man might give to the *Lord something that the man has. Everything that a man gives like that is *holy. It might be a person, an animal or land. The *priest must not sell it. A man cannot take it back. Everything that someone gives to the *Lord is most *holy.
v29 The *Lord might decide that a person must die. If he does, nobody can buy him back. The person must die.
v30 One tenth (1/10th) of everything that comes from the land is *holy. It may be *grain or fruit. It belongs to the *Lord. v31 If a person buys back any of his gift to the *Lord, he must pay the price and 1/5th (one fifth) more. v32 Out of every ten animals, one animal is *holy. It belongs to the *Lord. v33 A person must not change a good animal for a bad animal. A person must not change a bad animal for a good animal. If he does that, both animals are *holy. They belong to the *Lord. A person cannot buy them back.’
v34 These are the rules that the *Lord gave to Moses on the mountain called Sinai. They are the rules for Israel’s people.
altar ~ table on which to burn gifts to God.
anoint ~ when the *Israelites poured oil on special things or special people.
atone ~ to pay for something wrong that you did; that would make you *clean enough to meet God.
atonement ~ gift or something that you do to bring people near to the *Lord.
bull ~ male cow.
camel ~ animal to carry people or things. It can walk for a long time without a drink.
camp ~ place where people live in homes that they have made from animal skins.
cedar ~ a kind of big tree.
circumcise ~ to cut off the skin from the end of the sex part of a boy or of a man.
clay ~ sticky earth that people use to make pots.
clean ~ clean inside; it can get near to God.
covenant ~ a promise between the *Lord and the people.
covenant box ~ box that they kept in the most *holy place. Stones with God’s rules written on them were inside it.
desert ~ a dry place with much sand.
dirty ~ not clean inside. God cannot go near it.
dove ~ a bird.
ephah ~ they used an ephah to measure dry things; about 22 litres (5 gallons).
ephod ~ a kind of *robe that *priests wore.
family ~ family included father, mother and children; also grandfathers and those who had been born before them.
feast ~ a meal to enjoy something good with friends.
fellowship ~ when people are together and they want the same things.
fin ~ flat skin with bones that stands out from the sides of a fish.
foreigner ~ person who is foreign.
forgive ~ do not remember bad things that someone has done.
grain ~ hard seed that you can eat; or you can make it into bread.
grape ~ a fruit. People make a drink with alcohol from grapes.
harvest ~ the time when people pick all the fruits that are ready to eat. It may also be the fruits themselves; to harvest means to pick the fruits.
hate ~ not to like at all; to want to hurt someone.
High Priest ~ the son of Aaron; they had *anointed him; he could go into the *Holy Place on the Day of *Atonement.
holy ~ all good, with nothing bad in it.
honey ~ a special sugar that insects called bees make.
honour ~ to give an important place to someone; to think that they are special.
hyssop ~ a plant.
idol ~ a thing that people pray to instead of to God.
incense ~ something that gives a nice smell when you burn it.
Israelite ~ someone who lives in Israel; or a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jubilee ~ the 50th year.
kidney ~ an inside part of an animal.
lamp ~ something that contains burning oil. It gives light.
Levite ~ from the big family of Levi, who was one of Jacob’s 12 sons.
linen ~ a special kind of cloth.
liver ~ an inside part of an animal.
Lord ~ someone who rules or is a master. God is the Lord who rules everyone.
magic ~ to cause strange things happen to surprise people; when people use bad *spirits to do things for them. The *spirits do things that people cannot usually do. Magic is very bad and it is not from God.
mildew ~ when material is wet or bad, mildew can grow on it. It destroys the material.
offer ~ to burn something on God’s special table as a gift to him; or, sometimes *priests or other people ate the food but it was really a gift to God.
offering ~ gift that a person wanted to give to the *Lord.
Passover ~ special *feast to remember when God took his people out of Egypt.
perfect ~ nothing wrong with it.
pigeon ~ a bird.
priest ~ a man that the *Lord chose to do things for him.
punish ~ hurt someone because they have not obeyed the rules; cause trouble for someone because they have done bad things.
punishment ~ what they do to *punish a person.
pus ~ it is yellow or green; it comes out of a bad place on the body.
respect ~ to think that another person has value; to think that another person is important.
robe ~ clothes that reach the ankles.
row ~ a line of things.
Sabbath ~ the 7th day of the week; a special day for rest and to *worship God.
sacrifice ~ to give up something that has value; or the thing that you give.
scales ~ little hard things all over a fish’s skin.
semen ~ it comes out of a man’s sex part.
shake ~ move quickly and cause something to leave your hand or body.
silver ~ a shiny metal that is very valuable.
sin ~ when we do not obey God’s rules.
spirit ~ spirits are alive, but we cannot see them. There are good spirits usually called angels. Bad spirits (also called evil spirits or demons) live in the air round us. Satan is their leader.
tent ~ a home or building that people have made from animal skins; a place to live in that people have made out of cloth. You can move a tent-house to different places.
Tent of Meeting ~ the *tent from which the *Lord spoke to his people.
thumb ~ part of the hand which moves against the fingers.
Thummim ~ Urim and Thummim were valuable stones. The High *Priest (Aaron) put them in the breast pocket of the beautiful work. God used the stones to guide the people. We do not know how he did this. The *ephod was a special *robe that the *High *Priest wore over his other robe.
trumpet ~ a metal pipe with a wide end; you can blow through this metal pipe to make loud music.
unclean ~ not *clean enough to be near to God; not *holy.
Urim ~ Urim and Thummim were valuable stones. The High *Priest (Aaron) put them in the breast pocket of the beautiful work. God used the stones to guide the people. We do not know how he did this. The *ephod was a special *robe that the *High *Priest wore over his other robe.
wine ~ drink with alcohol in it that you can make from fruit called *grapes.
wool ~ soft hair that people use to make clothes.
worship ~ to bend down to the *Lord; to give *honour to him.
yeast ~ you can put yeast into flour and water to make bread. The yeast grows in the bread and it causes the bread to rise.
H. H. Halley ~ Halley’s Bible Handbook ~ Zondervan
Bibles ~ NIV, Good News, Living Bible, Life Application Study Bible
© 1997-2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK)
This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level A (1200 words).
November 2007
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